Haunted
by ImprecantesStellam
Summary: Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.
1. Chapter 01: Imaginary

**Chapter 01:** Imaginary

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** May 2011

**Word Count:** 2,269 words.

* * *

><p><em>If you need to leave the world you live in<br>Lay your head down and stay a while  
>Though you may not remember dreaming<br>Something waits for you to breathe again _

He was dead.

How it happened? None of them could have even thought of it. Gustavo Rocque, the illustrious Hollywood record producer, was dead. No one saw it coming. Above all, a certain group of musicians were distraught. Hortense 'Logan' Mitchell, Carlos Geraldo Garcia, James Isaac Diamond, and Kendall Donald Knight were all deadly silent as they sat in their room in the once lively Palm Woods, which to them, now seemed like a symbolic reminder of the plump, callous, and rude but caring and intelligent producer. Katie Knight, the beautiful younger sister of Kendall, sat next to Kendall and rubbed his shoulders in comfort. She was a bold, headstrong twenty year old who was finishing up her major in Business Administration and minor in Economics at the illustrious U.C.L.A. Mrs. Jennifer Knight, Kendall and Katie's mother, had flown in the moment she heard the news. Kelly Wainwright, the beautiful thirty-three assistant to Gustavo, was dry. All of her unused tears had been used up upon the grim situation that lay in front of her. Her pursed lips did nothing to hide her misery.

For nine years, she and Gustavo had trained Big Time Rush to be the most amazing boy-band in the world, and finally, they had reached platinum. They were followed by millions on social networking sites, and had produced duets with every big-shot in Hollywood. James was on his way to his third movie. Logan was doing an internship at a hospital, which was helping him get into a medical school with his triple major in pre-medicine, biology, and chemistry. Kendall was engaged to Jo Taylor, the beautiful star of New Town High, and Carlos was a proud hockey player. However one fact pervaded all of their minds; what was Big Time Rush?

Big Time Rush had broken up two years ago. The official band name. Nonetheless, all boys were talented celebrities and still sung some songs together, just not under that band name. It had begun with a simple conflict between Kendall and James, but slowly got Logan and Carlos involved. Eventually, the boys decided to split up, and the moment they reached their fourth platinum album, they buried Big Time Rush and began their own careers and followed their dreams. Kelly knew this fact hurt Gustavo, but he refused to acknowledge it. The broken portraits at his mansion suggested to Kelly when she had visited several days ago that Gustavo missed his 'dogs'. She bit her lip again to stop these depressing thoughts. Obviously, something needed to be done.

Arthur Griffin, Gustavo's former boss, who had been gone, was also here. It was an interesting news story: the Chief Executive Officer of the RCMCBT Global Net Sanyoid Corporation had gone missing three years ago. It had occurred during one of Big Time Rush's tours on which Griffin had accompanied them along with his beautiful daughter, Mercedes Griffin. While Kelly knew the girl was extravagant, she had a feeling she would one day overtake her father and become possibly the third richest Chief Executive Officer in the world. Kelly was correct; Mercedes now held the reins of all Arthur had, and so much more. She was powerful, beautiful, and fortunately, much more reasonable than her father. She was distraught after he was missing, and she went through several phases, but everyone commended her on her rapid growth to maturity. Today was a horrible day; his disfigured body had appeared outside of Rocque Records, and it took hard forensic tests to identify the body. Since his body had shown up several hours ago, Mercedes had canceled all appointments and locked herself in her office.

"Boys," Kelly shattered the glass of silence, "I know this is tough, but we have to pull through." She could imagine Gustavo barking at all of them to stop sulking. She knew he loved them, but he could never express it right. It had something to do with his mother forcing him to play the piano all day...

The boys gave each other glances. This was the first time in two years that they had returned back to the Palm Woods. They all had missed each other, and some days wished they could further bask in their teenage years of bliss.

"I miss Gustavo." Kendall blurted out calmly. He looked at the other boys, who gave him a stare of sadness. They all agreed as well.

"I'm sure," Kelly paused again as she thought about her next words, "Mercedes will arrange a glorious funeral for him." Kelly sympathized with the poor girl who lost her best years and overtook the throne of the Griffin reign.

"I...simply don't understand how he died." Logan admitted, saying what was on the mind of everyone in the room. It was odd indeed; in fact, Kelly recalled Gustavo had gone for a check-up two days before and despite his immense weight, Gustavo was not in any danger. She was surprised to have found him 'dozing' off in his chair, before realizing he was cold. She called the police, and before they came in, they called her out to identify the rotting corpse in front of the records. According to the security cameras, Gustavo had simply been sipping his coffee, and all of a sudden, he closed his eyes for a presumable nap and never awoke again. The only odd aspect was that the mortuary had just called, and claimed they were still awaiting the body. Upon calling the police, it was said that the body was sent. Kelly assumed some miscommunication had occurred, and left it to the police for once to organize through this mess.

"I remember my report on him," Katie contributed wistfully. She played with her long brown locks in an awkward respect for the man. "I was only eleven..." Katie added again, although she knew it simply went in-and-out of everyone's ear. Mrs. Knight was whipping up some grub in their familiar room of 2J. She had immediately checked out the room from Bitters, who had sent a condolence basket. Mind you, it was cheap, but the thought counted.

The group had nostalgia upon first entering this room. They initially decided to all meet at Rocque Records, but it was cut off by police. Thus, Mrs. Knight suggested they meet in their apartment that Gustavo had gotten for them. No one wanted to say no, as they all pined for it. Katie had finished her final exam in Economics, and drove her way to the apartment.

"I wonder how Mercedes is doing..." James spoke for the first time. His famed beauty was still intact, and it was his beauty that had prevented Mercedes from dating him. He did not mind it, however. They remained platonic friends.

"Imagine if you saw your mother..." Carlos didn't finish his thought. The women in the room shot him a dark look which made him realize what he was about to say. Luckily James just murmured something, obviously not paying attention to what Carlos was about to say.

Soon, nightfall sneaked its way past daylight, and haunted the boys. Logan's pale skin shone like the moon from the glimmering natural lights outside, while Kendall's green eyes accentuated themselves like jades. James's chocolate brown hair glowed with perfect, while Carlos's brown eyes glimmered. Katie excused herself to check into her own room with her mother (claiming the boys needed some 'alone time'). Mrs. Knight followed Katie, and walked out with Kelly. After the two women shared a hug, Kelly walked to her house. For the first time in years, she felt alone.

Meanwhile, the boys simply changed into whatever clothes they had brought along. Logan sent a text message to his boss from his Blackberry, letting her know a close relative had died. It wasn't too far from the truth. Gustavo was not a close relative; he was a second father and best friend to all of them. Meanwhile, James whipped out his iPhone and canceled all of his photoshoots. Normally, any agent would have been mad, but with James Diamond, one must accommodate to his schedule. Kendall gently pulled out his Thunderbird and sent a text to Jo, letting her know the situation. She knew Gustavo slightly and sent back a sad message. Carlos kept his Sidekick from several years ago and still continued to use it. He claimed he loved the nostalgia associated with it, and thus no one argued with him about it. He sent a text to his team and told them he had to deal with something.

They all sat around in the apartment, observing how dusty the room had become. Bitters had never rented it out to anyone else, and Carlos felt a small urge to go through the swirly side. However, with the cakes of dust upon it, Carlos feared he would be purged from that matter.

"...I liked your last movie James," Kendall commented, as all boys looked at Kendall. He knew he had to be the one to bring them back together for this mourning. James slightly smiled and his eyes glowed for one second before dimming again. Flipping his hair, he responded:

"I enjoyed your last album too."

Logan nodded, before he turned to Carlos.

"My boss and I are a huge fan of your team. We tune into your games at the hospital all of the time." Carlos smiled before responding back to Logan.

"I don't think I could be a fan of hospitals, although I visit them often." Carlos laughed slightly as the others chuckled. They had ordered Chinese, but it was too early for any of them to eat.

However, something broke the pregnant silence that was roughly placed into the room again. Logan's blackberry began to hum "Halfway There", while Jame's iPhone blared out "City is Ours". Carlos's Sidekick rang "Boyfriend" while Kendall's Thunderbird sang out "Big Time Rush". Looking at each other strangely, they opened their phone to find a Restricted email address had sent them all an email.

Logan opened his message and his face paled even more.

_"Hello Logie,_

_How is Kelly doing? I hope she's doing okay. Perhaps okay enough to be reminded of what occurred on August 19th. How would she react to find out that the morning she awoke violated from a drunken one-night was shared with none other than Logan Mitchell. I don't think Harvard Medical School would like that would it?" _

James almost cried out when he opened his email from "Restricted". There was an attachment along with a message. His eyes quickly darted around the room, seeing everyone preoccupied with their phone.

_"Hello Jamez,_

_Love is beautiful. But betrayal? Lying? Hiding? That's pretty ugly. I wonder if Kendall would kill you when he found out his innocent Baby Sister had lost her virginity to his best friend, and behind his back, underwent an abortion. I hope you are enjoying your day."_

Carlos's eyes went wide when he read his email from a "Restricted".

_"Hello Carlito,_

_I found a link you might find interesting."_ Carlos scrolled over and opened up the link to find a page called "Nocturnal Enuresis" or better known as, "bed-wetting". Carlos flushed brightly as he quickly closed his phone and acted as if everything was normal.

Kendall's eyes misted as he read his message for the seventh time.

_"Hello Kenny,_

_Have you heard that song by Katy Perry? I kissed a girl and I liked it...taste of her cherry chapstick. Perhaps it could be remixed for you! It would go like I kissed a boy and I liked it...taste of his unsuspecting dick. What would he do when he found out you had molested him in his sleep for sex?"_

All the boys closed their emails and looked awkwardly at something in the room. Logan preoccupied himself with the dusty bookshelf; James with the cracked mirror; Carlos with the dusty slide; and Kendall with a hole on top of which was once a portrait.

The boys were confused, but did not know who to trust. Someone out there knew their deepest darkest secret, and they were afraid of blackmail. There was no ultimatum in the email, but a seemingly friendly message. Suddenly, all of the four phones vibrated as the boys nervously took out their phones again, ignoring each other.

It all read the same thing: _"Big Time Rush killed Gustavo Rocque. Big Time Rush killed Arthur Griffin. Now I'm going to kill Big Time Rush."_ The text was from Restricted and the boys gulped nervously. They all had something to hide, and unbeknown to them, they each held a piece to the puzzle that would solve both deaths of Arthur Griffin and Gustavo Rocque. However, they did not know who to turn to. The police would only suspect them, and they could not risk revealing something so big to any of their former friends.

The night was still young, but the boys were already tired. Mumbling words to each other, they absent-mindedly headed for a room in the hotel suite to stay in.

Had any of the boys stayed in the room for one moment longer, they would have noticed a notice slip under the door.


	2. Chapter 02: Bring Me Back To Life

**Chapter 02:** Bring Me Back to Life

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** May 2011

**Word Count:** 3,245 words. (5,514)

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><p><em>How can you see into my eyes like open doors?<br>Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb  
>Without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold<br>until you find it there and lead it back home _

The boys all awoke from a series of nightmares. James had cried all night from shame and his heart beating a name it was forbidden to beat for.

Kendall had not slept all night, but still received several nightmares. How would his former band react to the fact that he had molested one of them in their sleep? He had always tried to hide his latent homosexual feelings, but they felt stronger and stronger, especially around his band. It was the reason he lashed with James.

Carlos had awoke the earliest like usual, and quickly cleaned up his room, including his stained bedsheets. When he was in the band, he would wake up the earliest and held the reputation for keeping the cleanest room. Little did his band know that Carlos was a bedwetter, even at the age of twenty-five. He had only slept with one girl back when he was fifteen, and her name was Stephanie. However, he made sure she had left, for he knew he would wet the bed that night. He felt so impotent and disgusting for doing so.

Logan had slept in a fetal position. He was drunk at that one release party, and so was Kelly. It just so happened a song played and they happened to dance together, and before he knew it, Logan had thrust his final thrust into the eight-year older woman who worked with his producer. He awoke the next morning, afraid, and ran out before he could do anything, leaving Kelly hurt, vulnerable, and afraid. She recovered for the most part, but since then, had not slept with anyone or even touched alcohol.

What disturbed the boys most was that someone out there knew their secrets. They could not figure out how, but somehow, someone knew.

However, the early morning trepidation when Carlos called out for the other boys. Carlos was in a tight white shirt with blue shorts. James arrived first in a black wifebeater and striped boxers. Logan came in flannel pants and a simple long-sleeved shirt while Kendall came in his red shorts and black shirt. He felt slightly aroused by the tousled look of his band members, but hid it. Carlos looked pale, and trembled slightly. He passed the note to the others who began to tremble as well.

The note read:

_"Hello Boys,_

_Turn on your TV. I have a gift for you for being so silent about our messages last night."_ and signed on the note was "Restricted". The boys looked at each other in shock.

They all screamed out in unison:

"You got a Restricted Message too?" All of the boys flushed slightly, as they felt this is how they would have reacted nine years ago. However, after all the boys had nodded, they all stayed silent. They did not want to end up revealing their deepest secrets.

"Whoever is doing this is a sick fucking bastard." Carlos began, surprising everyone with his harsh words. However, the surprise was broken when Logan turned on the TV and saw a close up of Arthur Griffin's disfigured head. Logan screamed, while the other boys ran and yelped as well. However, the picture disappeared and a figure in the ghost-face mask appeared, waving to the boys. They expected it to be Stephanie doing a horror prank, or Camille doing an act. They would never know, however, until it was too late.

"_Call me the Reaper."_ The voice whispered. The boys all stared transfixed at the screen. Had James, who was the closest to the door, looked out the peephole, he would have seen a certain Reaper outside their door, listening in.

_"I know each of you are involved in the deaths of Griffin and Gustavo,"_ Reaper spoke, as if familiar with the boys. _"However, you all deserve to be punished. You all know what I'm capable of, and don't try to even tell anyone. You will listen to me, and do as I say unless you want a file to be filed to the police and your careers to be flushed down the toilet."_.

The boys all stood frozen in fear. Whomever Reaper was, they were powerful and frightening.

_"But just as a friendly reminder of how dangerous I am,_" The Reaper hissed, _"you might remember this individual."_ With that, the Reaper turned the camera to a decapitated body, earning screams from all four men.

It looked too familiar. The grunge outfit...

_"He cleaned your toilet several times, and helped Gustavo relax."_ Reaper spoke, as he held up a decapitated head of Budda Bob!

The boys yelped, as footsteps outside scurried away silently.

_"That's right. Moreover, I was in your room last night, watching each of you sleep...so don't mess with me."_ The Reaper hissed again, as all the hairs on the boys's body stood up.

The power suddenly cut, and the boys yelled again, embracing each other. This would have been comedic had they been younger, but men in their mid-twenties didn't hug each other out of fright.

"What the fuck!" James cursed, as he kicked the ground. He was terrified and pissed. Suddenly Los Angeles seemed to not be of angels, but of devils.

"We have to tell the police!" Logan commanded, before the others looked at him crazily.

"Are you crazy man?" Carlos bellowed, ".!"

The boys felt trapped. They didn't know what to do. This was no normal bully they were dealing with; this was a psychotic murderer. However, one fact bothered Logan the most other than the fact that the Reaper had been in their room.

"...How are we all connected to these two deaths?" Logan was confused. He looked at the others for help, but they were as equally confused as the boy next to them.

"Somehow...we know something." Kendall guessed, "but we only know it in parts." Kendall added.

However, a knock on their door scared them. Carlos ran and checked through the peephole to see Mrs. Knight, Katie, and Kelly standing there. Opening the door, the boys waved to the women, before realizing they were still in their pajamas. Rushing to their rooms chaotically, they all began to change. Kelly almost wanted to smile; it was like when the boys were younger.

The three women had met in the lobby when the power went out. Bitters was working on it, but it seemed odd. Nonetheless, the girls went up to the boys room through the stairs. However, had Katie looked down for one moment, she would have seen the Reaper crouching on the basement floor.

The boys changed and came out, panting.

"Mercedes agreed to hold a funeral for both her father and Gustavo," Kelly spoke calmly. She had cried a lot last night, regaining the ability to do so, but felt strangely much better. As if justice was going to occur. She didn't know why she felt like this, but she did.

The boys nodded calmly, although their minds were far from Gustavo and more focused on the Reaper. Katie noticed their silence, but said nothing about it. Her eyes strayed, however, to James. She blushed when she had seen him in his boxers and a wifebeater and felt lucky. Many girls at her college would have died to see the star in such a sexy look.

"But she wants you four to speak for Gustavo," Kelly said looking slightly offended. However, she knew Mercedes had a good idea because Kelly would have immediately burst into tears.

"Moreover," Katie added, revealing this to Mrs. Knight and Kelly as well, "Camille is in town." Katie looked at Logan, who plastered a small smile. He was still drying to deduce something about the Reaper that seemed so familiar...

"By the way, did you hear the news?" Mrs. Knight broke the silence that had erupted again into the room. The boys gave a look to Mrs. Knight.

"You remember that funny janitor man in Palm Woods, Bob? He ran off with Mr. Bitter's golden watch!" Mrs. Knight chuckled. She never trusted Buddha Bob after he had installed a camera in their bathroom unknowingly, thinking it to be a stereo. The boys all froze. Something about that story didn't make sense, as they just saw Bob's decapitated corpse. Blinking their eyes, they chuckled weekly.

"The funeral is in three days," Kelly said, as she added it to her Blackberry smartphone. Logan looked surprised to see her with the same exact phone as him.

"I have to go attend some meetings with Gustavo's lawyer," Kelly added, "and so I'll unavailable for the next two days." She finished adding to her calendar and looked up smiling.

Mrs. Knight asked if Kelly wanted to go out to lunch with them, but she graciously refused. A pit grew inside Logan's chest.

With that, the group of six decided to meet in the Lobby, as the power had just turned on again and eerily enough, the channel was switched onto Dora the Explorer, earning the four boys a look from Katie. However, Logan paled. He swore there was a DVD player there when Katie, Mrs. Knight, and Kelly had walked in.

Nonetheless, the group exited the room, not knowing what danger awaited them.

* * *

><p>Logan and Carlos waited at the table. Mrs. Knight and Katie decided to eat at a public food court, and they had gone shopping while James had to meet with an agent and Kendall met with Jo at their house.<p>

Logan looked at Carlos and wondered what secret he had that was so terrifying. But before pursing that topic, Logan asked Carlos something.

"Carlos...what do you remember about that night? With Mr. Griffin?" Logan asked, as Carlos looked sadly at Logan.

"Honestly, all I remember is our wild after-party, and some dude screaming and when we looked, no one was there. Then, I remember also that the Jennifer's, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo had entered the party at like...9:06 PM." Carlos wondered why he remembered that time so well. He blushed when he remembered; James had informed him what a 69 was...and well, Carlos held that to memory. Something hit Logan's head, as he jotted down that fact.

"Someone screamed. No one there. 9:06 PM, Jennifer's, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo enter party." Logan remembered that tour bus was in San Francisco and the girls all rode together to get there.

"What do you know?" Carlos asked, scrunching his face slightly. Logan sighed. He tried to recall the night as well he could too. He pulled up his sleeves and looked at the table while he spoke.

"I remember that scream too. And then I remember Jennifer Golden walking in to the party with Jennifer Opal and Jennifer Tiara. Shortly after, I remember Mercedes walking in, and then lastly Jo and Camille. I think Camille drove," Logan added sighing. Camille was now some famous actress, while he was a measly doctor. "I also remember that," Suddenly Logan gasped. Something was making sense...

"You're thinking of something! I like that look!" Carlos added, licking his lips. He felt sixteen again. For the first time in hours, he actually smiled.

However, Logan paled again. He looked at Carlos, frightened.

"One of those six girls killed Arthur Griffin."

* * *

><p>James was in his dressing room, crying. He did his shots well, but he couldn't get Katie out of his head. He loved her, but was too afraid to ask Kendall. Moreover, he was stressed out over the entire Reaper incident. Something was just not right...<p>

Moreover, he had to hide his secret addiction. James Diamond was addicted to cigarettes. He used them to escape the pain he felt when Katie wanted to abort his child. He used them to escape the pain of being an actor. He used them to escape the pain when the band broke apart, all because James was changing in front of Kendall. He still never understood what had happened, and possibly never would.

However, James's phone vibrated, and initially he figured it would be his boss. However, his eyes widened to see it was Reaper. How Reaper programmed a hidden number and automatic name was beyond James. He took one last huff of his cigarette and read the message, his iPhone shaking.

"_Jamez, you know smoking is bad for you! How would it look for your adorable little fans? Do you think Katie likes smokers? How about Kendall, whose father died of lung cancer? Or Logan, whose an intelligent doctor. Your smoke might also give Carlos an asthma attack. Poor boys...they don't even know what the most beautiful of them does."_ James immediately discarded of the cigarette and heaved into the trashcan. He couldn't handle this. How did the Reaper know? This was too much!

* * *

><p>Kendall was making out heavily with Jo. She had seduced him to make him feel better, and they were sitting on their bed. People didn't care that Jo Taylor had moved in with Kendall Knight.<p>

Kendall reached his fingers under Jo's skirt and began to play against her damp thong. However, before he could go any further, Jo broke the kiss and looked at Kendall.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked, resting her head against Kendall's chest and implying that playtime was over. Kendall sighed as he shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable. He poured himself a bottle of vodka from the cart next to him, and chugged the shot glass seven times before Jo gave him a dark look.

"Why do you still drink?" Jo pouted. She detested drinking a lot, and only did it for the public parties, but truly hated it. Why her Kendall did it, she would never know.

Kendall did it because it burned him on the inside. It made him forget that he molested his best friend. It made him forget that he was secretly gay or bisexual. It made him forget that Gustavo died. It made him forget that Reaper existed. Tipsy, Kendall placed his lips against Jo and pushed her against the bed. She caved in and before long, the two had their bodies in synchronization with each other.

Kendall was too involved in his thrusting to hear a text, but after several minutes, he finally came and separated from Jo, who was panting too. Kendall looked at his inbox and his eyes widened as he saw it was from "The Reaper". He opened it hesitantly:

_"Kendall! How would Momma Knight react if she found out her son was an alcoholic? What about Katie? She hates drinking. Your friends would be disappointed too, especially since they made you stop when you were younger. And I must say I respect you. I don't know much men who could fuck a girl while thinking of a certain Big Time Rush member."_ Kendall quickly erased the text in fear that Jo would read it, and got up.

"I'm late for lunch" Kendall whispered, as he put on his pants. Jo raised her eyebrows but nodded. She had to shoot a few scenes anyways.

* * *

><p>"Wait, run that by me again!" Carlos said, confused. Logan sighed as he explained for the second time his theory.<p>

"Look at it like this. That scream must have been Griffin right? It happened before 9:06 PM. You remember the first person walking in at 9:06 PM. I remember the first person walking in was Jennifer Golden, then Jennifer Opal, then Jennifer Tiara, then Mercedes, then Camille, then finally Jo. So while Griffin was abducted outside, one of those five girls were not with the group. Hypothetically," Logan gasped slightly as he regained his breath, "if Jennifer Golden walked in a 9:06 PM, and the abduction happened before then, it could have only happened after 8:49 PM, when Camille texted me that she had parked the car far away from the party because of all of the other calls." Logan put together. A horrible feeling flitted into his heart, upon the fact that he could have possibly dated a psychotic murderer.

"Okay, so that means Griffin's abduction occurred between 8:49 and 9:06" Carlos put together, as Logan nodded.

"That leaves fifteen minutes, because I doubt it would have been easy to simply abduct Griffin in a minute. Out of those fifteen minutes, I know Camille walks at a rate of two miles per hour in heels...," Logan blushed. He remembered waiting for her to come on a date, and while he was waiting, calculated her speed.

"So let's assume they all walked at two miles per hour. It would take them four minutes to get to the party. But, if the murderer," Logan whispered, "strayed away from the group, it may have taken them an extra five minutes to dispose of Griffin and return the group."

Carlos did the math, and looked confused.

"Five plus four is nine. What about those six minutes?" Carlos asked dumbfound.

"Well, consider this. The murderer had to walk back and fro the party. So that's eight minutes walking to the party, and then five minutes doing the deed and the group looking for the final member, and then the murderer met up with them and they headed over to the party." Logan calculated.

"What about the other two minutes?" Carlos mumbled, slightly confused.

"Well, I'm sure there's room for error." Logan winked, chuckling. Carlos smiled too, as they waited for their friends. However, a horrible feeling entered their hearts. One of their six friends murdered Arthur Griffin.

"It couldn't have been Mercedes," Logan commented. He doubted Mercedes would kill her father. Heck, she was his pet!

"..." Carlos stayed silent. He didn't want to think of any of them as murderers. Life was getting more and more complicated.

* * *

><p>To James's silent disappointment, Katie had to go back to UCLA for an emergency with one of her friends, and Mrs. Knight drove her there, leaving the boys to eat lunch together in an awkward silence. However, Carlos brought up Logan's prediction, and once Logan reiterated it, Kendall glared at Logan.<p>

"You know my fiance is in your list, right?" He hissed at Logan. James raised an eyebrow.

"Kendall, Logan is just explaining the possibilities. I mean, he could be wrong," Although James knew Logan had to be right. His explanation made so much sense.

"Why don't we ask the girls?" Carlos asked. The boys agreed to this as they sipped the last of their drink.

* * *

><p>A figure stood in the hotel room of 2J. The figure reinstalled a DVD player and without looking back, walked out of the room and into the security office to delete their presence on the video camera. It was too easy. When Kelly had looked down, Katie transfixed by James, and Mrs. Knight looking at the dust on the wall, the figure could easily sneak behind the boys and disconnect the DVD player and sneak back into the space between the wall and the slide, slim enough for the figure to hide in. Big Time Rush was going to pay.<p> 


	3. Chapter 03: Call Me When You're Sober

**Chapter 03:** Call Me When You're Sober

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** May 2011

**Word Count:** 3,567 words.

* * *

><p><em>So don't cry to me.<br>If you loved me,  
>You would be here with me.<br>Don't lie to me,  
>Just get your things.<br>I've made up your mind._

Kendall sighed, as he ran his head through his hair for the seventh time. He couldn't believe he was about to ask his lovely fiance such a stupid question. He didn't want to admit it, however, that Logan was right. The scream was heard after Logan got his text, and the girls came after that. Perhaps if he asked Jo...

Speaking of which, a beautifully dressed blonde girl stepped into the hallway of their abode. Kendall took a gasp. He loved the musk and manliness of men, but he knew a good dress when he saw one, and Jo looked amazing. Kendall almost wished he wouldn't have to ruin the good mood present in the house by asking Jo, but he knew it was a matter of life and death. He didn't know who the Reaper would strike next, and his heart had been beating really fast lately.

"Is everything okay Kendall?" Jo asked, as she saw next to him on their bed. She pushed back some of his hair, and whispered into his ear seductively.

"When I come home tonight, we can party." She breathed huskily into Kendall's ear, causing him to flinch. He had never done that before, and unfortunately, Jo noticed it as well.

"Kendall?" She asked, confused as to how she should feel. Kendall got up, and pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled frustratingly.

"Jo, can I ask you something?" He said, pleadingly. Jo looked worried, and nodded.

"What happened that night? The one where Mercedes's father was...abducted." Kendall whispered as Jo got up angrily and glared at Kendall.

"Oh, are you a cop now?" Jo hissed. Kendall saw tears in her eyes, and regretted asking the question. He put his hands on Jo comfortingly, but she threw them off.

"I told you, and every other damn cop out there, all I remember is coming into that party with Camille, the Jennifer's, and Mercedes. Nothing more, nothing less." She sniffed, gently wiping her eyes to not ruin her make-up.

"Baby, I know but-"

"If you knew, you wouldn't be asking me!" Jo slapped Kendall. Ouch. He was not expecting that. She grabbed her clutch in a huff, and stormed out of the apartment, huffing. Kendall heard the door slam, and to follow that slam, he kicked the wall and fell back, clumsily. What the hell was going on? Simply three days ago, he was having sex with Jo, talking about their wedding. Ever since Gustavo died, Kendall's life had become a rollercoaster for sanity, especially with Reaper on their tail and the police being out of the question. Perhaps what disturbed Kendall the most was the fact that the four of them were innocent hockey players. Had he not sang the Giant Turd song to Gustavo, he wouldn't have gone to LA, and he wouldn't have been famous, but he wouldn't have had to deal with all this. By now, he could have been some famous hockey player.

His phone vibrated, and with puffy eyes, he read the message:

_"Aww Kenny, are you crying because Jo doesn't want to sleep with a man who sleeps with other men? Or are you crying because she won't help you out? Here, let me make up for her. Look in your closet._" The text message from Restricted said. Kendall's eyes grew. He was afraid of what he would find in the closet. Grabbing one of Jo's sharpest heels, Kendall edged near the closet. Scared, he opened it and found a DVD on the floor.

Afraid of seeing another disgusting body, Kendall hesitated before picking up the DVD and putting it in. However, his blood flowed with testosterone and he knew he had to do this.

Kendall turned on the TV after pushing the DVD in, and to his surprise, it was a security camera from the party on...the night Griffin disappeared!

Kendall watched it with interest. He saw Camille get out of the driver's seat in a purple dress. Jo came out of the passenger's seat with a teal dress on. He remembered it quite well, for it was not on her very long after the party. Kendall flushed a bit before watching on. The three Jennifer's came out from the car, and they were dressed in gold, pink, and silver. Rolling his eyes, Kendall noticed something peculiar. Another car pulled up, and in it was Mercedes, Jett, and Dak Zevon. Mercedes was dressed in a beautiful beige dress, while Dak had on a tight black shirt and black jeans, and Jett wore a big leather jacket, jeans, a shirt, and boots. He knew Dak and Jett made their way to their party too, but he never realized that the two of them had rode separately from Camille. This...did not fit into Logan's calculations then. Jett and Dak. They were two new suspects into this case.

However, a sudden emotion hit Kendall. He was tired of all of this. He knew Jo was pissed at him, and he knew he had made a mistake. However, he began to cry when he looked at the DVD Cover. Reaper had placed a pornographic image of two men fucking each other. Crumpling up the paper, Kendall sobbed. How he wish he wasn't addicted to alcohol. He knew he had to stop. He went over to the cart of expensive bottles Jo kept for him, and he picked one up. Angrily, he threw it against the wall. However, he saw all the heavenly nectar flowing down from the wall, and despite kneeling on broken glass, Kendal began drinking it up. Soon, before he realized, he had bleeding knees, broken pants, and three empty bottles that had been full several moments ago. Kendall was crying hard. He needed this rush, but it wasn't occurring. He threw the other bottles against the wall, wishing a splash of liquor would hit him.

He knew his friends would hate him for drinking. Logan's best friend before he was friends with the band died in a drunk driving accident. James had lived with a mother who would sometimes kick him in a drunken frenzy after a bad or good day at work. Carlos was the one who pleaded with Kendall to stop, and Kendall couldn't say no. How he wished his friends would not hate him if they found out.

* * *

><p>"How dare you!" Camille slapped Logan, as he flinched in recoil. Till this date, Camille followed her odd method actress rehearsals, despite being a big time actress now.<p>

"Geez Camille, you've gotten stronger," Logan rubbed his stinging face gingerly, before looking at her sweet smile.

"Logie, you wanted to ask me something?" She cooed, as they both sat down in her hotel room. Logan had to admit, Camille was definitively far more attractive than she had been when they were sixteen. Even then, she was beautiful, but now, she had curves, boobs, and a beautiful behind. Logan suspected her reason for wearing a blue sequin dress upon finding out Logan was coming to visit her was not as clean as he would have hoped. He couldn't hook up with her now; especially with Reaper practically outside the door and his secret with Kelly.

Taking a deep breath, Logan nodded.

"Camille, do you remember the night Arthur Griffin was abducted?" Logan asked calmly, hoping Caimlle wouldn't explode. He noticed her tense, but other than that, she seemed to still be smiling.

"...Not really Logie, sorry." Camille said quickly, as she got up to look at herself in the mirror. Jo and her were going to a Hollywood party together, and she was waiting for Jo to pick her up. Camille noticed her foundation was a bit weak, and smiling, she excused herself to the bathroom. Her phone vibrated, and Logan noticed. His maturity prevented him from looking at it, but he caved in. It was from Jo. Logan wondered abstractly if Kendall had asked her yet.

Opening up the text, he raised an eyebrow.

"_Camille, the boys are asking about that night. Remember, we don't know ANYTHING about it._" Jo had sent Camille that message. However, Logan looked to see a shocked Camille standing in front of Logan, her mouth open.

"Are you looking at my phone?" Camille roared, as she grabbed her phone. Logan tried to form words as she got up, and after reading the text, her misty eyes glared at Logan.

"GET OUT!" She sobbed, grabbing Logan and throwing him the other direction. Logan stumbled, and readjusted his collar. He mumbled "You look pretty" but he doubted Camille heard it. Sighing, he left her room.

As he exited, he saw Jo in her limo waiting for Camille. Obviously, it had not gone well with Kendall, as her eyes were larger than usual, implying she was crying. Logan was slightly afraid. But he snuck past her and climbed into his car.

He looked at his phone, which he had forgotten in his car, and there was a text from a certain Restricted.

"_Aww Logie, did Camille slap you for practically violating your producer? Or did she slap you for trying to find out more than you should know? Logie, curiosity killed the cat..._" Logan gulped, as he quickly reversed and drove as fast as he could. However, his phone vibrated again and Logan quickly looked at the screen, for he was driving. It was from Reaper again.

"_It seems like poor little Kendall might need his fwends again._" Logan's eyes widened. Kendall must have been in danger. Taking the first U-Turn he got, Logan raced to Jo's abode, not too far from Camille's. He silently hoped Reaper had done him a favor and sent the text to James and Carlos as well.

* * *

><p>Luckily for James, he had been simply checking himself out in a mirror. Oh, and playing with himself a bit, but he wouldn't tell anyone that.<p>

When his phone vibrated, it was right next to him. James quickly picked it up, putting down his flexing arm, and gasped. Kendall was in trouble! He called for Carlos as he put on some clothes, and raced with Carlos out the door. He noticed Mr. Bitters wasn't there. It was kind of odd.

Nonetheless, both Carlos and James plopped themselves in Jame's tinted car. The last thing he needed was some annoying photographers...

After a few awkward moments of silence, the boys sped their way over to Kendall and Jo's house, and they found Logan parking his car. As if they shared a mind message, the boys all ran to the door and found it locked. James tried pushing it, while Carlos fiddled with the lock and Logan tried calling Kendall. Neither of their strategies worked. Finally, they all nodded as they busted down the door, together, as a team. They didn't really care that Jo would probably freak out.

A pungent smell filled their nostrils that, unfortunately, they all realized and feared. Alcohol.

Screaming Kendall's name, the boys ran together, looking for the boy. They heard him sobbing in the room, and to their horror, his legs had dark blood bubbling out of them and his eyes were almost completely blood shot. He was sweating profusely, and trembling slightly as well. Logan smelled some throw-up, but ignored it. They all carefully walked over the broken glass and shook Kendall, from the nightmare he was having in his hallucinations. His dazed green eyes looked at all of the boys, but especially at Logan, which strangely made him cry more.

The boys all shushed Kendall, and Carlos, by habit, began to start cleaning the room. Logan held Kendall's head elevated in case of any loss of blood flow from his knees, that James was patching up with some towels.

A thought hit Logan, as he told Carlos to check Kendall's phone. Carlos nodded and got Kendall's Thunderbird and entered it, looking at his text messages. His last one was from the Reaper. Right before Carlos clicked it, Kendall cried out in pain, and Carlos immediately rushed to his side.

James, with whom Jo was the second most friendly with, called Jo to let her know Kendall got hurt for some reason, and before she could ask any questions, asked if she could stay out longer. She told him she was going to stay with Camille, and he nodded before hanging up.

The three boys focused on Kendall, and felt bad. They should have noticed it. Kendall was still hooked to alcohol. Kendall was never as clumsy as he had been before, and drank much more water than any of them noticed. Logan even remembered that Kendall had to squint sometimes to see signs on the road. The three boys felt as if they were at blame. Another thought situated itself into their head, and they wondered if this was Reaper's secret on Kendall. They silently hoped it was so that they could become cohesive again.

The night passed by uneventfully as Kendall fell asleep, and eventually the four boys did as well.

* * *

><p>Carlos woke up first. Luckily, he had slept on the floor, and could easily clean up his mess. After he had finished cleaning it, he noticed James waking up. James rubbed his eyes before waving at Carlos, his shirt riding up slightly. After finishing his stretching, James checked his phone, and to his horror, Reaper had sent him a text.<p>

_"Check your voicemail Jamez. Did you know the sign for Cancer is a crab?"_ James quickly closed the message and excused himself into another room. Carlos shrugged and realized the door was mysteriously fixed. He wondered if he and James had fixed it last night, but he couldn't recall anything but Kendall crying. Odd.

Logan awoke and saw Kendall sound asleep, holding onto Logan. Logan raised an eyebrow, and chuckled. He remembered their sleepovers as eight year old boys.

After displacing himself from Kendall, he gently unwrapped the towels, which were caked with dry blood. Logan would have recoiled, but he stayed strong for his friend. He dumped the towels in the trash, hoping Jo wouldn't notice, and placed multiple band-aids on Kendall's legs.

Logan pulled down his sleeves again, as he bit his lip. So much blood...looked so good to him. Logan displaced his thoughts quickly again, as Carlos walked into the room. Before Logan could ask, Carlos answered for him.

"James is in the other room, on the phone." Logan nodded, before noticing that Kendall was finally awake. He smiled and ran to embrace the other man, despite being in his mid-twenties.

Kendall looked completely confused and had a pounding headache. He looked and the room looked clean...Logan was not the only one here! Suddenly, last night hit him, and Kendall gasped. His legs were killing him, but he looked over at Logan and Carlos.

"Guys I-"

"Cut it Kendall." Logan said.

"We know you still drink compulsively." Carlos added, looking more saddened than mad.

Kendall felt like shit, and wanted to cry again. He grabbed Logan's sleeved arm, and held it close to him, ignoring Logan's uncomfortable wince.

"Guys...I...I just can't take it anymore. I want our lives to be simple again. No more lies, no more Reaper, no more deaths." Kendall sobbed, as Logan quietly moved his arm away and rubbed Kendall's back. Carlos nodded, sitting on the bed as well.

"Did Reaper do anything last night?" Carlos whispered tentatively.

Kendall suddenly remembered, and commanded Carlos to press the "Play" button on the DVD Player. Raising an eyebrow, Carlos followed his command, and to Logan's shock, they saw Jett and Dak with the six girls as well.

"T-This means..." Logan paled.

"We have eight suspects now." Carlos finished, rubbing his temples. Great, like asking six high-strung girls wasn't hard enough, they had to worry about two muscular Hollywood men.

"You know they both know about it, right?" Logan added to the silence. Kendall and Carlos looked at Logan.

"I read Camille's phone after Jo and Kendall had fought," Logan continued, "and she told Camille that we were looking for answers and that they know nothing about it." The boys looked at the floor in silence. Something was not right.

* * *

><p>James was holding back tears. His mother was on the phone with him. Brooke Diamonds, the CEO of the Diamond Cosmetics Empire, had just been diagnosed with lung cancer.<p>

She sounded raspy on the phone with him, but told him to be strong, for he was a Diamond. He was a star, and he was the soon to be heir of the Diamond Cosmetics Empire. James sobbed after she said that. He was tough; sure, he had washboard abs and the hottest hair around, but his mother was one of his few weaknesses. Sure, she looked at people like how a hawk looks at its prey, but after his father divorced her and married a girl fifteen years younger than him (the father), James was the only one there for his mother.

He couldn't bring himself to feel that he _wasn't_ responsible. Although he knew that he had never smoked near his mother, he felt that for every cigarette he had smoked, somehow did not hurt him but his mother instead. She even seemed surprised, and she was the one who had planned out her entire life in High School.

"Honey?" Her voice called out. James silenced his sobs and whimpered.

"Oh, come on. I'm Brooke Diamonds. No one has ever beat me." She added wistfully. James could hear the falter in her voice.

"How long?" James mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Brooke asked, coughing slightly.

"How long has the tumor been there?" James asked, almost wanting to yell in frustration. How could his mother act like everything was just normal?

"Oh..." She seemed sad. For once, James had asked her something she could not answer.

"Mom?" James asked.

"A few months." Brooke confessed. She added that she never went into the doctor in fear of being seen as imperfect or weak, and now she was dying.

"How much..."

"Four months." The cold weight dropped on James.

"I need you back here honey, I need to teach you everything." Brooke croaked, as James started to sob even more. He was dreading that question. He couldn't leave, especially with Reaper on the loose.

"C-Can...I promise I'll visit." James blurted out, unable to form a coherent thought. He heard his mother sigh in sadness as she wished him goodnight and hung up. James sat in the room, sobbing.

"James?" James looked up and saw Carlos looking extremely concerned.

"I..." James wiped his tears and adopted his mother's poker face.

"Let's go. Is Kendall alright?" James commended himself on his ability to stay aplomb despite Carlos's looks. Finally, Carlos gave up and told James everything he missed. When Carlos mentioned Dak and Jett, he recalled something.

_It was nearing midnight. The party was still going on, and no one had noticed Arthur Griffin's disappearance. James found himself grinding against some chick, as he began to give hickey's to her neck. He knew he stunk of nicotine, but he didn't care. The entire party held various stenches. He looked around, and smelled alcohol, weed, cigarettes, hookah, and the whole nine miles. This party was officially wild._

_However, James remembered one stench. It was coppery and it was familiar to the smell that Carlos often had after his stupid accidents. It was blood. But before James could investigate, the girl he was grinding with had began to sloppily make out with him, and his male hormones led him to kissing back and forgetting about it. He did, however, remember seeing Jo, Camille, Jennifer Golden, Jett, and Dak coming out of a room. He forgot the rest, however._

James almost gasped. He had a clue! He ran over to the room, and immediately yelled out:

"It was either Jo, Camille, Jennifer Golden, Jett, or Dak!" Logan stared at James with interest, while Kendall still held his lifeless stare.

"What makes you say that?" Logan asked, as Carlos caught up with James.

"I remember around midnight, there was this strong smell of blood. I remember seeing Jo, Camille, Jennifer Golden, Jett, and Dak walking out a room. They all looked as if they were either high or crying, and I remember Jo had spilled a drink on her dress and Camille was frizzing up." James recalled, panting. That was all he could remember. But suddenly, he felt as if he had a duty.

The four boys did not know how dangerously close they were to the murderer.

* * *

><p>"Thanks." A voice spoke, as it opened the door. The voice hung up the phone, and immediately picked up its belongings and headed out the door, closing it.<p>

* * *

><p>Carlos thought he heard a door slam, but figured it was one of the neighbors. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Carlos ran to the door to find Jo there, surprised to see Carlos there. Carlos explained that Kendall had drank a bit too much and fell on some bottles. Jo believed the story and dragged her belongings into the house, sighing.<p>

James, Logan, and Carlos gave Kendall a farewell as Kendall shifted back into sleep. He needed to stop this drinking, and focus on finding out who killed Griffin, and possibly figure out who killed Gustavo. These murders were obviously linked, and he needed to find out before Reaper got too close to him again.


	4. Chapter 04: Whisper

**Chapter 04:** Whisper

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** May 2011

**Word Count:** 3,402 words.

**Note:** There is some slash action in here. I decided to update today because on Monday, I'll be off visiting my university for orientation! Wish me luck! I'll try and update on Monday too, but we'll see!

* * *

><p><em>I'm frightened by what I see<br>But somehow I know  
>That there's much more to come<br>Immobilized by my fear  
>And soon to be<br>Blinded by tears  
>I can stop the pain<br>If I will it all away _

Kendall was still upset, even though Jo tried to apologize to him. It hit him, that Jo had lied to him.

"Why didn't you tell me that Jett and Dak came with you guys too?" Kendall asked coldly. Jo gave him a dark look and flicked him off before heading off to the kitchen. Kendall remained silent in the room.

He found his phone eerily next to him and checked it. Nothing from Reaper. He shrugged. Perhaps today was going to be peaceful.

_Bzzz._

Unfortunately, his phone vibrated on the wooden drawer. Kendall sighed as he moved his blistering legs to reach his phone and sit up straight. Luckily, it was from James.

"_Kendall. We're heading out today. Got a party to go to and I need u, logan, and carlos there plz._" James had sent a text to Kendall, asking him to accompany him, Logan, and Carlos to a Hollywood party. Kendall wondered for a moment, and replied back to James. He quickly received a reply.

"_It's from this producer named Sinha._" The text read. Kendall replied and then called out to Jo in the kitchen.

"Jo! Are you going to Sinha's party tonight?" Kendall called out, his voice slightly rasp. Jo came into the room, her eyes slightly puffy from crying, and looked at Kendall.

"No? I told you before I hate Sinha..." Taylor gave Kendall another dark look before heading and turning out, yelling something like "Out for coffee!". Kendall sighed as he got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up.

He knew he had to work things out with Jo. Otherwise, not only was he going to lose one of his best friends, but his business partner. He would never admit it to Jo, but she was the main reason he was still able to sell songs. He knew many people loathed him for breaking up Big Time Rush, but they still listened to him because he was Jo Taylor's boyfriend. He sighed. Life was never this complicated or political.

After finishing his shower, Kendall finished his breakfast and headed out to Palm Woods. Upon reaching there, he noticed Bitters was absent. Shrugging, Kendall headed up to 2J, slightly limping. He was fortunate that Katie was still at UCLA, and that Mrs. Knight was busy nowadays. Although he hadn't heard from Kelly in a while. Nonetheless, he would send a text message her tonight and see how she was doing.

As he reached 2J, he found Logan and Camille in the hallway. He quickly hid behind a plant, although he realized how stupid it was. Camille's back was toward him, but Logan could have easily seen him. He still tried to listen in to what they were discussing.

"...Logie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. Things have been stressful for me lately," Camille pouted. Kendall felt like saying some negative words about her after last night, but decided not to think about it.

"I understand, but Camille, to be frank, you're hiding something from me." Logan spoke, although Kendall knew from the hitch in his voice that Logan was nervous. He never liked confronting people.

"Logie, that text meant nothing. Jo was frustrated with Kendall." Camille cooed Logan, trying to reach up to his face. Logan sighed, but stepped back slightly. Kendall grinned.

"Fine, but what about the second part? That you two know nothing about the night." Logan asked, as Camille's face probably fell. She took a deep breath, and looked straight at Logan. Kendall took out his phone to record Camille's falling moment. He liked the girl, but felt she needed to be told off after yesterday. He pressed the record button.

"L-Logie, it's not like we will be, or we are being secretive. I think being smart, or being extremely blackmailed are two different things. By goodness, I am meeting someone today!" And Camille ran off, leaving both Kendall and Logan very confused. Logan sighed, and motioned for Kendall to come out. Kendall saved his video and walked over.

"What was Camille saying?" Kendall asked. Logan shrugged, as both boys entered 2J. James was idly watching TV, while Carlos was warming up some food.

The hours passed calmly. All four boys were glad no text from Reaper had arrived to ruin their day, although they were all wondering what secret Camille and Jo could be hiding about that night. Moreover, what was with Camille said? Kendall was full of questions.

Soon enough, nightfall crept over and grabbed the boys into it's crude darkness. James got ready, while Kendall and Logan changed as well. Carlos changed last. The boys all looked at each other and fixed each others collars and ties and suits before heading out. They all needed a night out after the craziness that had been occurring for the past few days.

* * *

><p>The group had arrived to the party in James's tinted car. They agreed that the less attention on them was for the best; although Logan was relatively safe, Carlos, James, and Kendall were in danger from the paparazzi. The group entered through the glass doors to see a dark, but pumping atmosphere and strobe lights in various effects across the room. It was a graveyard of morality. Young girls were throwing themselves to old fat, but wealthy men. Heck, those young girls probably wore less than a swimsuit model, if possible. Alcohol was reeking across the crystal ballroom, and James swore he could smell a bit of cannabis trailing from one of the back-rooms. Of course, this was Hollywood.<p>

The group nodded as they split up. Logan was heading toward the bar, primarily to make sure Kendall didn't come near the bar. He didn't mind the comfortable seats, or the attractive yet relatively modest women sitting near the bar. He flashed one of his signature smiles and sat down, relaxed.

Kendall stood near the snacks, full of rich caviar, hors d'oeuvres, and other expensive foods for which Kendall had no stomach. He groaned slightly as his legs hissed when he would make a long lunge in his step. He was also unnerved by the fact that many attractive young men were dancing on the dance floor, with each other. It was a dirty wish, but Kendall wished he could be on that dance floor, grinding erotically with a certain band member who was undoubtedly straight...

Carlos, however, was already getting tired of this stuffing environment. He gave a curt nod to James, who was discussing something with Sinha and attempting not to get distracted by the three whores attached the fat Indian man. James nodded as Carlos stepped outside.

Logan looked around again, and noticed some familiar faces. Camille was here, but she was obviously discussing something very serious with someone. Logan was tempted to walk over, but he figured it was something trivial. He noticed Mercedes sitting with several people in suits, most likely sponsors and investors. She looked slightly depressed, and Logan never noticed the bags under her eyes before. He shook those thoughts away too as he noticed his phone buzz.

"_Aww Logie, are you going to get drunk again? I'm sure there's a large number of women in this room who would love to be violated by a drunk doctor"_ Reaper had sent a message to Logan, which caused the doctor to flush a violent red. He looked around, and felt strangely confident. He knew someone in this party was Reaper and he was going to do his best to find out who Reaper was. He also didn't mind an excuse to get away from the attractive females.

Kendall, while munching on some unidentifiable substance, felt his phone buzz as well. Fearing the worst, he noticed it was from Restricted, or better yet, Reaper. Sighing, he opened it up and flushed immediately as well.

"_Kenny! You look so handsome tonight! I hope you don't lose control and end up molesting another Big Time Rush member!"_ Kendall immediately shut his phone and felt tears come to his eyes. He ran past Logan, who didn't see him, and immediately asked for three Grey Goose Vodka's and two Smirnoff's. He was getting wasted; he had no other way of stopping the bile from his chest to grow.

James received a text too, but was luckily too engrossed in his conversation with Sinha to even notice it. However, he would regret doing so in the near future...

Carlos, outside, received a text message which oddly puzzled him. It was from Reaper, and it read:

"_Carlitos, do you know what the word padres biologicos means? I think it means biological parents. __Funny, I wonder if you'll ever meet them. I heard that the lane you're on right now was the same lane __on which the kid from Home Alone met his mother again._" Reaper wrote, with a few typos here and there. Carlos was puzzled and shook his head. With any hope, Reaper was just as drunk as everyone else in that party and meant nothing. However, in his thoughts, Carlos did not notice a car honking at him. He looked and covered his face from the bright lights. The car stopped and two people stepped out. They were Hispanic.

"_Oy! _You!" The man spoke in a harsh tone, as the woman began to squint at him. Carlos felt a very strange feeling to his stomach, and did not know how to react. Something...something did not feel right.

The man was getting angry and began to stomp up to Carlos. Before he could say something, the woman next to him began to cry and took out her chain and showed an image to the father, whose features immediately softened. He held his wife and began to console her in Spanish. However, the woman began to grow hysteric, and ran back to the car. Carlos wasn't sure what he had to do, but once the woman began racing towards him with files, he felt slightly afraid.

"Carlos! _Mi hijo!_ My son!" The woman exclaimed, giving Carlos a large hug.

* * *

><p>James finished his meeting and smiled brightly. He had just scored a movie with one of the hottest directors in Hollwood-one especially famous for romantic scenes with multiple women. James pumped his fist in success, but was surprised to see Logan at the bar, pushing bottles away from Kendall. He quickly ran over, and gave Logan a look, who simply threw his hands up in the air.<p>

"I walked away for five minutes, and in five minutes, Sir Knight downs three bottles of straight alcohol." Logan sighs, as he pleads the bartender to keep away from the intoxicated Kendall Knight. He didn't want to ruin James's obvious happiness by telling him that he suspected Reaper was at this party.

"Dude, I just scored a huge deal!" James exclaimed, as he pulled out his wallet and phone and placed a hefty hundred dollar tip to the bartender, who smiled brightly. James ordered his usual party drink-the weak Mike's hard. Logan began to get irritated with the blinking light of James's iPhone and while James began to chug down shot after shot of the alcoholic drink, Logan lost sight of Kendall who had stumbled away somewhere. Logan sighed as he clicked open Jame's iPhone and almost gasped. It was an unread text from Reaper!

"_Aww, Jamez, I hope you don't get your usual party drink tonight. I see you over there with Sinha, so you might not read this in time. I heard a certain party guest spiked the drink with heavy drinks for the weak drinker like yourself._" And with that, Logan looked to see a completely plastered James. Rolling his eyes, he didn't realize that he would have to deal with two drunken friends. He didn't know where Carlos was, and he hoped Kendall was not doing anything stupid. He would have to watch James now.

* * *

><p>Kendall, unfortunately, was in the middle of the <em>hot<em> group of dancing men in the dance floor. Luckily, the lighting was so terrible and the floor was so crowded, Kendall, even in his inebriated state, had no fear of any cameras going off. He was grinding against some guy and he felt the man's pulsating erection grind into Kendall's cheeks. He began to grind harder, as the guy began to moan passionately. Kendall felt some man touch his own crotch, which began to stand erect as well.

It was safe to say Kendall Knight was enjoying himself.

One of the men he was dancing with roughly kissed Kendall on the lips, and tickled Kendall's groin. Kendall caved into the man, drunk, and as the man lifted him bridal style, Kendall began to giggle. He remembered the man opening some doors and throwing Kendall on a soft bed, as Kendall was unaware of what was about occur with the man unbuttoning his shirt and the lights slowly dimming.

* * *

><p>Carlos was immediately confused. A middle-aged Hispanic woman and Hispanic man were crying as they looked at Carlos. Carlos snatched the folder from the couple and began to look through it. He saw cut-outs of him from newspapers and magazines, even going back as far into his Big Time Rush years. However, after the pictures, he found something strange. It was a blood report.<p>

Carlos scanned it as best as he could in the street lights with the couple hugging each other. He noticed it had his blood type, O positive, and a name he didn't recognize; Carlos Pena Jr?

He was Carlos Geraldo Garcia. Or at least...that's what his mother Sylvia Garcia, an IT System Analyst told him, along with his father, Officer Garcia, a police officer. He couldn't believe he was adopted-no matter what Reaper said!

"Look, I'm sorry, _Lo siento_, but I'm not," Carlos attempted to interrupt the celebrating Hispanic couple. He admittedly felt bad; whoever Carlos Pena Jr was, his parents really missed him.

The mother looked at him and smiled. "I'm Jennifer Pena, and this is your father, Carlos Pena!" The woman exclaimed. Carlos did take a closer look at her, and he noticed they had a similar nose structure. Even the other Carlos had a simple facial structure, and they both looked around Mrs. Knight's age. It...oddly fit, as his parents were always the oldest at their birthday parties.

But no! It couldn't be true! For almost three decades, he had been living under the surname of Garcia; not Pena. This...

"No, this can't be true." Carlos said aloud, as his 'parents' gave him an apprehensive look.

"What?" The mother asked, shocked.

"Hijo, we are your parents. After you joined Big Time Rush," Carlos Pena explained, "we noticed that you looked a lot like me when we were younger. Fifteen years ago from that time, we had our only son Carlos Pena Jr, kidnapped and the police told us that chances are he was probably dead. We never gave up hope, however. We've been looking for you for ages, and we received in the mail a letter telling us you would be here tonight." Carlos Pena looked hopeful.

"Reaper" Carlos mumbled. Reaper must be trying to mess with Carlos. "Listen, this is all a big prank. Someone is out there trying to mess with us-"

"No, you are my son!" The mother sobbed. Carlos felt so bad; he almost wanted to accept the lie and help that woman smile again.

However the father gave Carlos a quizzical look.

"Hijo, we will leave you alone on three conditions. You ask your parents about your birth, you do a blood test, and a paternity test." Carlos Pena explained.

Carlos raised an eyebrow. For a lie...they were doing so much. But Carlos knew he would go through with this process-not only to prove them wrong, but to conquer the doubts arising in his system.

He quickly pulled out his phone and sent a text message to the guys and told them he would be back tomorrow afternoon. With that, Carlos stepped into the car, slightly afraid of the future.

* * *

><p>Logan sighed as he read Carlos's text. He couldn't find Kendall, and James was mewling next to him drunk. Sighing, Logan put his phone away and looked at James who was looking at some attractive women.<p>

"Y-You know Logie," James slurred, "that one looks like Katie." Logan froze. Why was Katie being brought up?

"She's such a catch Logie, and such a beautiful woman." James continued, as Logan stared at James straight in the face. Kendall had told them ten years ago that Katie was their little sister, nothing more, nothing less. They all agreed to this silent pact and held it that way. Sure, Logan in his growing teenage hormones had sometimes seen Katie in a different light, but he knew it was something neither of them wanted to pursue. Katie was like his little sister. However, he was completely unaware James had even looked at Katie in that light. It made Logan shiver.

"She's also talented in more ways that one," James snorted as Logan's ears went completely red. He was positive Katie would not appreciate being talked about like this. Moreover, how would James even...know?

"You know Logie?" James scooted uncomfortably close to Logan, "she was gonna have my baby!" James giggled like a little girl as Logan looked at him aghast he would even be thinking such things. Logan felt the urge to hit James, until he saw warm tears trailing down from James's eyes.

"I-I told her not to have it, for it ruin my career," James hooted, "and it would ruin her life. But secretly, I wanted it. I was so young, but I wanted a little Jamie," James trailed off as Logan's eyes widened. It suddenly made sense. The furtive glances between Katie and James; the overprotective nature of James; Katie's insistence of her hatred toward James; the time when James had an emergency call at home and Katie's friend was going through surgery..at the same time. Logan didn't know what to do; he felt obligated to inform Kendall, but he couldn't betray James like that. Nonetheless, Kendall would have to find out and it would be better to let him know now before he found out years later.

Speaking of a certain green eyed blonde boy, Logan tried to find Kendall, but gave up searching through his eyes. James began to mumble something about the cancer crab, but Logan ignored it, getting worried. Kendall was out of sight, and Carlos had gone M.I.A. James was hopelessly drunk, and Logan was feeling more vulnerable than ever. He knew it was a weakness, but he was used to the three guys standing up for him and fighting for him when needed. He felt so weak and compelled against the Reaper, who knew his deepest secrets. Logan pulled on his sleeve as he thought about secrets.

Reaper had stricken again; Logan was confident that Reaper had intentionally spiked James's drink, except Logan was confident that Reaper was expecting Kendall to be sitting where Logan was. Logan smirked as he realized he, in some way, disrupted Reaper's plan.

Logan suddenly thought of something, and asked the bartender for a few napkins. Grabbing a pen from James's jacket, Logan began to write down a list of names: Mercedes, Camille, Sinha, and so forth of celebrities he recognized. He was confident that one of them had to be Reaper.

The fact that made his night, however, go downward was when he noticed Jo walk in, looking slightly terrified. She immediately spotted Camille and the man, whom Logan now recognized as Dak Zevon, and the three went into one of the backrooms. Logan shook away any kinky thoughts and wondered about following them.

However, Logan's Blackberry buzzed twice and he sighed, knowing already who it could possibly be.

To his surprise, it wasn't Reaper. It was Kelly!

"_Logan, I was wondering if the boys and us could meet before Gustavo's funeral?_" Kelly asked. Logan nodded to James who was mumbling something about some Brooke and her crab named Cancer. Logan wasn't listening and replied to Kelly, telling her they would meet with her. Closing his phone, Logan cursed. He lost track of Jo, Camille, and Dak. He was going to go search for them and see what he could find. He got up, and prayed that James simply stayed at the bar, plastered.


	5. Chapter 05: Going Under

**Chapter 05:** Going Under

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** May 2011

**Word Count:** 2,925 words.

**Note:** There is some more graphic slash action in here. I would like to thank Jay and Irishoreo for their reviews! It means a lot to me! :) I also, well I should admit that this is really the first time I have ever been as explicit as I am in terms of sexual graphics. I placed a warning before it though! But I would like feedback, if possible! :)

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><p><em>Don't want your hand this time - I'll save myself.<br>Maybe I'll wake up for once (wake up for once)  
>Not tormented daily defeated by you<br>Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom _

Logan gave one final glance to James who was babbling about some drunk crab named Cancer, or so Logan thought. Nonetheless, Logan nodded to the bartender, who seemed to be entertained by the drunken spectacle of James Diamond. Logan began to hesitantly head toward the backrooms of the party. He was disgusted that he could practically smell libido and was shocked to even think that Jo, Dak, and Camille could be here. All three were famous, but they were known for their good behavior. Then again, Logan recalled one day reading about Jo being pulled from a video by Sinha. He wondered why she would even be here in the first place...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A bloodcurling scream filled Logan's ears, as he habitually pulled down his left sleeve and looked around. Logan didn't realize how lost in his thought he was, and only then he realized he was lost. He never realized how big the back rooms of the club were, and to his shock, he noticed a figure, or a silhouette of one, standing near his right. He paled to see that the scream came from the door to his left, and to his utmost horror, Reaper stood in front of him in flesh, waving gingerly at the boy. Logan was about to rush to Reaper to pound the living flesh out of him, but Reaper hushed him.

"You might not want to chase me. You don't know who is in there _Logie_" The androgynous voice spoke. It still caused shivers within Logan's body. Logan felt conflicted; right here was Reaper, and he could end the misery and find out who was behind all this emotional abuse, or he could save-where was Kendall? It hit Logan! Reaper knew Kendall was in that room, being tortured. Reaper purposefully did this, and the ghost-face face of Scream stood mocking Logan's inaction. Logan cursed as he felt warm tears flood to his eyes.

"This isn't over yet Reaper. Once I find you, I will make sure your face is pounded against the hardest wall I can find!" Logan yelled. He thought of something, and hoped it work. As he walked toward the room, he noticed the eerie ghost-face watching his movement. Suddenly, Logan jumped and punched Reaper, his heart fleeting. He heard the mask drop, and he quickly looked up before being stabbed in the face by a heel! He thought he saw a flash of blonde as Reaper ran past him into the darkness. Logan cursed himself as he felt blood on his forehead. Nonetheless, the Reaper mask was taken by Reaper, but Logan almost wanted to smile. Reaper was a blonde female.

However, Logan heard another bloodcurling scream, and he immediately busted the other door. Nothing in his two and a half decades of life could have prepared him for such a horrible scene. He saw Kendall Knight stretched out on a rough bed, his arms and legs hand-cuffed to the metallic bearings of the bed. There were whip marks on his body, and blood leaking from his anus. Based on the glint of semen Logan detected, it hit Logan. Kendall Knight, the leader of Big Time Rush and the hero of Logan, had been raped. Logan's blood boiled as he figured Reaper knew that Kendall was being raped, and Logan was disgusted that a woman would let someone get raped. He disregarded the negative thoughts, and was fortunate to find Kendall's clothes. He noticed the boy was crying and screaming for help, not noticing Logan's presence. Logan bit his lip and wanted to cry as well. What the hell was going on?

Logan pulled out a switchblade he carried in his wallet for certain purposes and managed to cut through the cuffs. They were cheap plastic ones, but nonetheless capable of chaining someone. He hugged Kendall's nude and sweaty body and cried with him, as Kendall sobbed even harder upon seeing Logan. He consoled Kendall as much as he could and dressed the boy. Even with his clothes, Kendall had blood-shot eyes, a shivering physique, and a face comparable to a corpse. Logan had never seen his friend so broken. The only fortunate part, Logan realized, was that Kendall would never have to see this day again.

* * *

><p>"<em>Aww Logie, did you see Kendall? Maybe he deserved that...I heard Karma's a bitch."<em> Reaper had texted Logan, and Logan was tempted to send back a "Fuck you." He was beyond pissed and frustrated. He had Kendall next to him shivering in the car and James in the backseat, knocked out. Logan took the keys Kendall had in his pockets and started the engine. He was going to kill Reaper, if that was the last thing he did.

* * *

><p>Carlos was crying into the woman's shoulder. It had taken several hours, but he couldn't believe it. He was adopted, and he finally met his biological parents. He had called his real parents, and they admitted that he wasn't their own son after a ton of crying and drama. Carlos felt bad for them, and he listened about his mother's infertility and how his father found baby Carlos abandoned on the road. His real parents responded to this, commenting that a robber had taken Carlos and had attempted to run away before the police caught him, but he never knew where he had kept the infant.<p>

However, Carlos felt strangely complete. He almost felt fortunate-he had two loving mothers, and two loving fathers. For once, he felt he was completely protected from Reaper. However, upon the thought of that demon, Carlos Pena Jr received a text message from a certain horror movie fanatic.

"_Carlitos, estoy muy orgulluso que you found your parents! However, I heard the boys might need you right now." _Reaper texted. For once, Carlos almost wanted to thank Reaper who had led Carlos to his own parents. He looked at his blubbering parents and consoled them. He promised to introduce them to his friends and discuss the future with them, but he had an emergency. His father offered him a ride, which he gladly took the Palm Woods. Carlos ran past the lobby, not noticing Bitter's absence, and ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

* * *

><p>Carlos stormed into the room, although Logan told him to keep quiet. Logan informed him that James had gotten drunk and Kendall...was found beat up. Logan kept it intentionally vague in fear of Kendall's emasculation. He knew this was a huge blow to the singer. Carlos nodded, and was about to tell Logan his good news before he thought he would reveal it once he knew what he would do from there. Bidding Logan good night, Carlos went into his room in 2J and left Logan alone. However, Logan was not alone; his thoughts were haunting him.<p>

Logan felt exhilarated; he now knew Reaper was either Jo or Jennifer Golden. Those two girls were the blonde girls who were suspects for Griffin's murder. Logan had initially considered Mercedes, but he doubted it. He felt pity for Mercedes and made a note to discuss it with her. Moreover, Mercedes wouldn't kill her father. He could think of a million reasons for which his mind thought of why Jo or Jennifer Golden could have killed Griffin, and possibly Gustavo. He was afraid, though, of telling Kendall about Jo.

Logan never realized he fell asleep, being watched by a hidden camera in 2J.

* * *

><p>Kendall awoke, in a sweat. The night still stung fresh for him, and his entire body was sore. He felt as if he couldn't breathe, or move. He felt like complete shit. He didn't exactly know what happened, but his ass hurt, and he was feeling extremely apprehensive. He figured that Carlos, James, or Logan must have driven him home after he had gotten hopelessly plastered. However, why did Kendall feel so...dirty?<p>

A text answered his question, as Kendall took a sharp inhale. It was from Reaper.

"_Kenny, I left a video for you to see._" was all it said. Kendall noticed the DVD Player in his room was on and connected to the TV. He was initially afraid, as he noticed it was four in the morning. However, his determination arose and he pressed play, not noticing his pallid skin, and turned on the TV. He noticed that a blonde man was dancing drunkenly against another handsome man, and before Kendall knew it, he realized that he was the blonde man, and the handsome man had taken him to the back room. Kendall's heart began to race, as the camera shifted to another camera, and it was inside the room. His heart froze when he saw himself squirming on the bed, and Reaper giving the handsome man a suitcase of something. Kendall felt like throwing up, but continued to watch in shock.

(A/N: If you wish to skip this part, you may. It's a bit gruesome.)

"Now take your clothes off" The man almost demanded.

Kendall slowly complied, and when he stood upright, Kendall noticed the man's dick was once again rock hard. It still looked so huge and the Kendall in the video looked really nervous. The man told the Kendall in the video to come over to him and sit on the bed in front of him. His tone was almost angry, and Kendall could tell that the Kendall in the video was getting scared. He stood in front of Kendall, and his cock was standing right in Kendall's face.

"Lick it" The man barked.

Kendall wasn't sure why he would do that, but Kendall noticed he did as he was told. Kendall almost wanted to throw up as he slowly stuck his tongue out and touched it to the tip of the man's could see that he didn't really enjoy it, and sickeningly didn't dislike it either. The man was starting to thrust his dick against Kendall's mouth, and he caught Kendall by surprise. His eight inch dick parted Kendall's lips and the head slipped in. When his cock slipped into Kendall's mouth, he lost control. He started shoving more and more of his member into Kendall's unsuspecting mouth, and Kendall didn't have time to protest, in the video. Kendall, both in the video and in real life, was caught completely off guard. Kendall could see his teeth rubbing against the head of the man's cock, and Kendall saw the man yelp in pain. The man pulled his dick out and slapped Kendall hard in the face.

"Don't let you teeth touch my cock again you filthy boy slut" Dan yelled. Kendall was completely scared now, and he looked as if he didn't want to piss him off.

"I am sorry, it won't happen again" Kendall half sobbed in the video. Kendall was surprised he could even speak.

The man told Kendall that it better not, and he grabbed the back of his head and brought his dick back to his mouth. He told Kendall to open up and he complied. He shoved his dick back into Kendall's mouth putting all eight inches into his mouth this time. Kendall finally found his willpower and shut it off. He was afraid there was a whole lot more, and it would explain the pain in his rear.

(A/N: You could begin reading again!)

Kendall sobbed in his bed, wishing everything could just be normal. He bitterly missed skating in Minnesota, helping his old neighbor out, and so forth. He even missed Big Time Rush. He wished he had never done that to _him_ and thus spiraled his life out of control. He was horrible, a monster, and now he was filth. He was dirt.

He grabbed whatever clothes he could find and ran to the bathroom, locking door.

* * *

><p>Logan heard the slamming and sighed. He figured Kendall had just woken up. Logan had wished all night that Kendall would be so hungover that he wouldn't remember the night. Logan noticed that Carlos was awake, smiling jubilantly. He was making himself coffee in the kitchen, and when Logan came out, he smelled...hickory? He never figured Carlos could cook. He smiled at Carlos, as both boys held somewhat good news they were eager to share.<p>

* * *

><p>James was sobbing in his bed. He had a nightmare about his mother being killed in a brutal way by a certain Reaper. He ran his hands through his hair and bit his lip, although it simply made him sob more. The feeling that his mother had cancer had just hit him, and that, coupled with the alcohol, made James want to simply throw his guts up. He then decided he would go for a walk, and he didn't even care about getting ready. He ignored the shower in the bathroom, and refused to look at Carlos's and Logan's smiling faces. The two boys' smiles faltered, as they took out one plate from the table. They figured James was in one of his bad moods where he would go storm it off somewhere else. The boys understood; while they were all close, they sometimes needed time apart.<p>

The boys waited for Kendall for a few moments, before deciding to eat. Although both boys had good news, they wanted to share it to everyone, and thus ate in a comfortable, but eager silence. After a delicious breakfast, Carlos decided he would meet his real parents and get to know them. Thus, he jubilantly left the room. Meanwhile, Logan had a dark thought implicate into his head: One that included James, Katie, and Kendall.

Logan felt as if he was being pulled in two directions. In one direction, he had Kendall. Kendall was his hero. Kendall had saved him from bullies when he was younger and was the reason Logan was where he was today. He was the leader, and Logan felt obligated to tell him.

However, James as Logan's closest friend and had helped him so much as well. Moreover, Logan realized that this matter included Katie, who was like a little sister to Logan. Logan ran his hands through his hair in frustration, not noticing the steam arising from the bathroom.

Suddenly, Logan's phone buzzed.

"_Logie, did you hear about that man who was caught stealing milk in a cow outfit? He claimed stealing helped him. How funny..._" Reaper had sent Logan a text message and Logan was tempted to throw his phone at the wall. First was Kelly; his biggest mistake. Since that day, he could never look at Kelly straight in the eye again. He remembered even seeing her on a summer day, wearing the shortest skirt Logan could have imagined possible. He heard James and Carlos comment about it amongst themselves, and felt odd about it. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to Kelly, but he didn't know how he felt.

Now, Reaper reminded Logan of one of his other well hidden secrets. Logan was a certified kleptomaniac; he used to steal all the time in order to feel the rush. He loved feeling successful and great after stealing baseball cards, Pokemon cards, and so forth. However, his rampage got more and more dangerous, and Logan's name leaked out one day. Except, it wasn't Logan, but Hortense, his real name. Hortense's keychain had fallen out in a stolen rush, with the mall security guards chasing after him. It was Logan's luck that day when James's mother Brooke Diamonds hated his name and changed it to Logan, and his friend, jokingly, never realized they lied to the police.

Logan never stole again after that, and as he tugged at his left sleeve, he felt anxious and scared. He then saw something from the corner of his eye, and to his horror, he saw a strong amount of steam dissipating from the bathroom! Logan's eyes darted to the clock and almost yelled. Kendall had been showering for almost an hour. It wasn't abnormal, but the amount of steam being exerted by the bathroom was. Logan grabbed a bobby pin, luckily left by Katie one day, and ran to the bathroom. Luckily, it was unlocked. However, Logan could barely see through the immense steam, which stung his face. He coughed, but eventually reached past and found the shower.

Not caring that his shirt was soaked, Logan shut off the shower, and found a fetal Kendall sobbing. He picked up Kendall's naked and soaked body, and dragged it to the outside of the bathroom, where Logan let go. He saw Kendall's bloodshot eyes were puffy, and Kendall had blotchy red marks all over his skin from the extreme heat of the water.

"K-Kendall?" Logan screamed, as Kendall began to oddly shiver. Logan's heart felt relieved as he knew Kendall hadn't died, but he was still terrified to see Kendall in such a disheveled state.

"Kendall!" Logan screamed again, pressing himself over Kendall's body. Normally, he would have found it awkward to be on top of a naked, but well shaped, Kendall, but Logan didn't spare any thoughts toward that. He was already anxious enough, and his left arm was tingling.

"L-Logie?" Kendall snapped out of his trance as Logan's cool tears fell onto Kendall. Logan looked relieved, and blushed before jumping off of Kendall's naked bod. Kendall felt like sobbing again upon looking at Logan's reaction, but maintained himself. Logan looked at Kendall and gave him a look to indicate that he knew. Kendall broke down again, and embraced Logan. Logan hugged back, shedding tears of himself.

If it was the last thing he did, Logan would destroy Reaper.


	6. Chapter 06: The Kinslayer

**Chapter 06:** The Kinslayer

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** June 2011

**Word Count:** 3,315 words.

**A/N:** Thanks for your amazing reviews Zana! : )

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><p><em>Some wounds never heal<br>Some tears never will _

Carlos had left the apartment building, waving a vague welcome to the new concierge of the Palm Woods. He made sure he looked presentable as he proudly drove over to the address his newly found parents had given him. His body was shivering from excitement. He had never felt so fortunate-that he had not two loving parents, but four. He knew it was selfish, but in the face of Reaper, Gustavo, and Mr. Griffin, it all felt so good. He couldn't wait to reveal it to his friends as well and allow them to bask in the sunshine of happiness he had felt.

When he drove, he never noticed that he was entering a slightly darker part of Los Angeles. When he noticed, his heart began to beat fast. He remembered one time he and Logan had ventured to this area, which was a dumb move for the two of them. It was unofficial, but James and Kendall were the dominant ones, while Logan and Carlos were the weaker ones. They all had their own strengths; Kendall's impeccable drive and determination; James's charm and strength; Carlos's optimism and hope; and Logan's intelligence and logical reasoning. The boys usually felt as if a mountain was just a pebble in their path. However, when he and Logan had ventured to this darker area of Los Angeles (which Carlos had nicknamed Los Diablos after the incident), they were cornered by several drug addicts and eyes of lost hope. It took several years for Carlos to understand Logan's reasoning; these people were the residue of Hollywood Fever. They were the individuals who once held a hope and now lived in an illusion constructed by them. They did not allow themselves to diffuse through the walls in which they placed themselves. With these thoughts in mind, Carlos oddly wondered why in the world would his parents live here.

Carlos found his parents rundown house and parked his car hesitantly. He didn't know what to expect, but he gulped down his fright courageously and walked out of his car, which stood out like a sore thumb in the poor surroundings. However, after knocking and seeing his mother's bright face, Carlos realized where he received his infectious smile from. He grinned widely upon seeing his father, and entered the house. It smelled like pinto beans and lilac candles. It was an odd smell, but strangely, it comforted Carlos.

"Carlos! Mi hijo!" Carlos's father grinned, as they embraced. The trio sat in the clean family room, and Carlos's mother muted the television, which was playing a Telenovela Carlos recognized from his mother's channels. Grinning, he turned to his parents.

"Have you guys listened to my music?" Carlos asked hopefully, as his parents chuckled. They nodded cheerfully, and Carlos's father took out his Sidekick (which upon seeing, Carlos squealed in glee), and played "Halfway There" from his phone. Carlos's mother began to sway slightly as she stood up, as if she was going to dance, and Carlos clapped, grinning widely. After a few positive moments, Carlos's mother excused herself to the kitchen to take out something from the oven. For a moment, Carlos's father looked uncomfortable, and Carlos pounced upon the frown.

"Papi, what's wrong?" Carlos asked, curious. His father looked at him, and mumbled some incoherent words. Carlos urged him to speak louder.

"I need money." Carlos's father choked. Carlos's heart fluttered. Normally, he would have felt as if his parents were using him, but from the look in his father's eyes; the fallen pride; the fallen dignity; the shame of a father asking his children for money; that look in his eyes convinced Carlos that he was sincere. Carlos smiled and pulled out several hundred dollar bills from his wallet. He always liked to carry around a few grand in the case of seeing a homeless child.

Carlos's father quickly pocketed the money as Carlos's mother came from the kitchen carrying a tray of taquitos. Carlos and his father eagerly pounced upon the tray, the mother's laughter filling the room.

After an hour or so, Carlos's mother took out a dusty album. Carlos loved looking at pictures, to the extent that he wished he could grab each frame from a movie and place it into a novel. He loved the quote his other mother told him; a picture is worth a thousand words. It meant so much to Carlos, and he felt that the tome resting upon his real mother's hands was filled with countless words, all dying to reach Carlos.

Carlos almost cried on the first one. It was his real parents wedding. He grinned at his father and hugged his mother slightly. They continued to flip through the pictures, as the smell began to further soothe Carlos. However, his phone vibrated, and all of a sudden, Carlos could feel something was wrong.

"_Having fun with your parents Carlitos? You're so selfish! You don't even know what just happened at your apartment."_ Carlos's heart fell into a pit, and was skewered by a thousand pricks. He felt like crying and cursing out Reaper. For once, Carlos felt at peace, and now he knew something had occurred at his apartment. He noticed his parents caught up in looking at the album, and with his head bowed, Carlos stood up.

"Papi, Mami, I have to go. There's an emergency back at my apartment." Carlos confessed, although he couldn't bring himself to see the disappointment and hurt in his parents eyes. However, when he looked up, he wasn't surprised to see the four eyes moist, but was surprised to see pride in them.

"Carlos, you are truly my son. You must be close to those boys." Carlos Pena Sr spoke, as he clapped his hand on Carlos's shoulder. Carlos grinned again, as he kissed his mother goodbye. He jumped into his car and drove as fast as he could.

* * *

><p><em>During Carlos's trip...<em>

Logan came out of the shower, his eyes not moist from the water, but from crying. Logan had never thought so much while standing in the shower, and he had never felt so conflicted and torn. Especially after seeing Kendall so weakened and vulnerable, Logan knew their once fearless leader couldn't handle another bomb from Reaper. Logan suspected that the next line of defense for Reaper would be to reveal the news about Katie and James for Kendall. Logan wished he could have talked to Katie, but her phone was off. Mrs. Knight was out, and Kelly had postponed everything for an emergency meeting with Mercedes Griffin. He knew Reaper was up to something, indicated by the light on his phone. It was an email message, telling Logan to watch the news in an hour.

Logan sighed as he dressed himself and fixed himself up. He wondered why he cared so much for his appearance, and with that thought, James snuck into his head. Logan paled again. He knew James never meant to tell Logan, and in a way, Logan felt hurt that James would hide something from all of them.

Then again, they all were hiding something...

Logan felt his left arm twitch, as he adorned his hooded jacket. It was warm today, but Logan loved wearing this jacket. It was the first jacket Mrs. Knight had sown for him during their time as Big Time Rush. He was close to his parents, but he always felt another son-mother relationship with Mrs. Knight, or "Mama Knight" as he liked to address her.

Sighing again, Logan stepped out. He saw Kendall in a blanket watching TV, and he saw that James wasn't back from his walk yet. Deciding it was either now or never, Logan tip-toed into the main room and looked at Kendall, who immediately jumped upon hearing Logan's footsteps. Logan looked at Kendall with so much pity. Kendall's bright eyes had lost their shine, and he was almost desolate. Shaking his head, Logan knew he couldn't get distracted. He wondered how he would approach this. Suddenly, he knew he had to just be straight out with it.

"Katie and James have slept together." Logan blurted out, as Kendall froze. The TV kept on blaring out its sounds, but Kendall appeared to be frozen in time. Slowly, and eerily, the hockey player from Minnesota looked at Logan, and Logan almost wanted to rejoice. He saw a light again in Kendall's eyes, and it was a fire. However, Logan realized it wasn't a happy fire. It was a fire composed of broken trust, anger, and over-protective feelings toward Katie.

"What?" Kendall spoke icily, dropping the blanket. He was dressed in a T-Shirt and sweats, and was glaring at Logan.

"I-I...James confessed to me when we were...drunk...at..." Logan trailed off, not wanting to itch at any of Kendall's physical or emotional scars. Kendall glared wildly at Logan, although his anger was directed toward a much more dolled up male.

"..." Kendall couldn't say anything, and he balled his hands into a fist. He proceeded to stomp toward the door, before the physique of Logan barricaded him from his pathway.

"Logan move. He needs to be taught his lesson before he can-" Kendall tried to pry Logan from the door, but Logan stood still and concentrated.

"Kendall, calm down. You're feeling like this because you're-" Logan tried to diagnose Kendall, but this only fueled the fire in the other boy.

"LOGAN GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY." Kendall roared. He couldn't believe James would do this. He went behind his back and-Kendall shivered at the thought of James and his innocent sister, Katie.

Suddenly, Logan was pushed from the back, and almost toppled over Kendall. To their surprise, James was at the door, slightly sniffing. He took one look at them, nodded, and proceeded to go to his room. Logan pleaded silently with Kendall, as Kendall's face adopted a look similar to a bull, and he stomped toward James. He grabbed James's shoulder, and punched him square in the face.

James understood from that punch what had transpired behind his back, and looked at Logan, hurt.

"You told?" James remembered most of last night, and oddly hoped he actually didn't confess to Logan about Katie. Logan began to cry, as his body trembled in sorrow.

Kendall was about to strike James again, when James hit in him his chest, touching upon a scar. Kendall howled in pain, and pounced onto James. Logan was screaming at them, but couldn't pull one off the other.

Suddenly, as blood began to leak from James's nose, he grinned sadistically at Kendall.

"Yeah, I fucked Katie. She loved it." James enticed the other boy, earning a roar and a loud smack across the face. Logan couldn't bear to watch and kept on screaming. He was surprised no one had come in through the door.

Kendall topped James and began to punch him all over, as James began to scream obscenities through his choked tears.

"SHE HAD AN ABORTION, SHE HAD MY CHILD. WE LOVED EACH OTHER." James sobbed, as Kendall continued to beat him, despite the burning pain from his previous night. Finally, Logan pulled Kendall off, as James ran to his room and locked the door. Kendall felt strange around Logan, but gently shook him off and stormed into the bathroom.

Logan was in a state of shock. Katie had an abortion. Katie had sex. James had sex with Katie. Kendall just beat James up. James is upset. Kendall is upset. Logan felt upset. He couldn't believe he just caused a fight. He sat on the sofa, and just let out a frustrated cry, as he brought his knees to his chest and sobbed. He was a horrible person, and a horrible friend. His left arm was twitching wildly, but Logan was ignoring the temptation.

All of a sudden, Logan heard a door open. Wildly hoping it was either Carlos with an infectious smile, James with an apology, or Kendall with an apology, Logan looked up. He saw Kendall, who had the same horrible face he had after being raped. The fire of betrayal and hurt was still in his eyes, but it was dimmed. The smoke from the fire pushed tears to fall out of Kendall's eyes, as Kendall slowly trembled and walked over to Logan. He took one look at Logan and fell on the sofa crying. Logan felt his heart pang as he tried to comfort Kendall to the best of his ability.

However, another door opened. Logan's eyes went wide as a smell filled his nose. He looked and to his shock, he saw James with a cigarette. Suddenly, the smells, the late nights, the eye drops, everything made sense. James was a smoker!

Logan made a weeping noise, as Kendall looked and saw James smoking and puffing smoke everywhere. Logan remembered that Kendall's father perished from lung cancer, and Kendall immediately stood up again.

"What are you going to do about it Kendall? Cry? Cry like you did when your father died?" James choked through the nicotine running through his body. Logan paled. He tried to hold back Kendall, but Kendall pushed Logan off and charged toward James. James avoided the attack and blew a puff of smoke into Kendall's face. If the two boys weren't trying to kill each other in some way, Logan would have laughed. The fight was almost reminiscent of the fights the boys used to have when they were younger.

"Shut your fucking mouth Diamond! Oh wait, like your bitch of a mother, you can't!" Kendall roared, although he didn't know why he brought in James's mother. For a moment, James froze. Logan noticed the sobbing grew harder, and James suddenly threw the cigarette to the ground, and pushed Kendall back. Kendall screamed at James, who screamed obscenities back.

"Get the fuck out of here you bastard!" Kendall yelled, as he shoved James toward the door. James hit the door head-on, but managed to stand. He flicked off Logan and Kendall before slamming the door shut. There was a pregnant silence in the room as Logan began to sob again, accompanied by Kendall.

The thunder outside began to roar. It was as if it was punishing all the boys for fighting, and it was during this time Logan wished the bright sun of Carlos was here to cheer everyone up.

Soon enough, Logan began to sob harder, and without knowing it, he began to sob into Kendall's chest. He was frustrated, angry, hurt, confused, and scared. He was frustrated that all of this was happening; why couldn't everything be normal? He was angry at himself for breaking Kendall and James up. He was hurt because James had hidden something from them. He was confused about Reaper and what would happen to James, and he was scared, because the hour was close and he knew Reaper wanted him to watch.

As if on cue, Logan's phone vibrated, and both boys looked toward the table on which Logan's phone laid. Logan, trembling, reached out toward it and saw it was from Reaper. He answered Kendall's tear-streaked face by nodding sadly, as he reached for the remote. He clicked it on and gasped.

_"This is Jennifer Golden for Channel 5 News. An anonymous source informed us today that national pop-star James Diamond, whose mother is Brooke Diamonds, an illustrious businesswoman, is undergoing emotional trauma. Brooke Diamonds, best known for her cosmetics, is undergoing treatment for cancer at-_" Logan shut the TV off as his skin lost all of it's color. He trembled to look at Kendall, who began to sob again.

They were dicks. That was the bottom line. James was hurt and confused, and yet none of the boys noticed. Logan felt even worse as bile threatened to come out of his throat; he realized James's drunken rambling about the cancer crab and Brooke...was about his mother. Logan felt terrible; he noticed James's drunken confession about Katie, but not about his own mother. It explained why James was out of it.

All of a sudden, Logan felt warm tears soaking through his shirt. He felt Kendall crying on his shoulder, and he consoled him as he cried as well.

"Kendall...we didn't know." Logan consoled Kendall, although it didn't help either boy.

"It's not that Logan," Kendall sobbed even harder, "I fucking screwed up everything. I'm a piece of shit for getting raped by that man, I'm an idiot for yelling at James, I don't even know where the fuck Carlos is, I'm a terrible brother, I ruined your life, I'm a victim of that psychopath Reaper, and I just messed up everything!" Kendall sobbed even harder, as a clap of thunder erupted in the room.

However, Logan stood frozen. He heard all of Kendall's vices, but there's one that haunted him. Kendall claimed he ruined Logan's life.

"K-Kendall?" Logan stuttered, slightly as he pulled away from Kendall. Kendall looked at him, confused.

"You said you...ruined my life?" Logan paused in between words, trying to find air to breathe. He was afraid of what Kendall was about to admit.

Kendall's face lost all of it's color as he tried to get up and leave. Logan held his hand tightly, and struggled to pull the muscular man down back onto the sofa.

"I'm not mad," Logan whispered. It was the truth. He was more scared than mad.

"...Logan, do you remember that one morning, you were sick and felt terrible?" Kendall asked, his voice quivering with tears.

Logan remembered that vague description very well. It was the morning before he practically violated Kelly. He had woken up with several bruises on his body, and to his utmost horror, he had basically had a wet dream; there was dried semen on his boxers. It was a hot night, and he had slept clad in his boxers. He was afraid, and suddenly felt vulnerable that morning. It was that feeling that spurned him into drinking more than he should have and essentially raping Kelly. He wondered why Kendall remembered that morning so well.

"...I caused it." Kendall spoke, his soul leaving him. Logan looked at Kendall quizzically, wondering what Kendall meant. All of a sudden, Kendall broke out into hysterics.

"I molested you Logie. I'm a fucking queer. I like men too, I like women. I was so fascinated by you, and I just..." Kendall sobbed as he brought his knees to his chest, refusing to look at Logan. Logan's heart stopped for a moment. Kendall had indirectly caused Logan to drink excessively that night, and he had practically molested Logan. However, Logan sighed. It would be a lie to say he was mad at Kendall.

"...So?" Logan squeaked. He knew he was totally underestimating Kendall's feelings, but he wasn't mad. He didn't know how he felt, but he...wasn't mad strangely. He almost felt flattered.

"S-So?" Kendall cried, as he stood up, ashamed. "I'm a fucking fag Logan! I deserve to die!" Kendall sobbed as Logan stood up, albeit shorter than Kendall. He looked into Kendall's eyes and smiled earnestly, despite his tears.

"No one cares who or what you like Kendall. You're Kendall Knight, one of my best friends. Nothing will ever change that." Logan's voice quivered slightly, as he digested the fact that Kendall may have caused his own personal vice. However, he knew Kendall felt slightly better after revealing this to Logan.

"...You're not mad?" Kendall asked, as Logan shook his head. He needed to identify his feelings as he embraced the taller man. But first, Logan needed to find James, and kill Reaper. He was almost certain now that Reaper was Jennifer Golden. It all made sense; she was on the news, so she had the power and wealth. She could have easily seduced an intern to bug their room or something, and journalists were good at tracking others.

'Reaper' was going down.


	7. Chapter 07: Nemo

**Chapter 07:** Nemo

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** June 2011

**Word Count:** 2,284 words.

**A/N:** Oh man, I think this is Carlos's shining moment! I also just want to thank Zana De Dorinte & the anonymous Kogan4life for their AWESOME reviews of each chapter! You guys ROCK! :)

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><p><em>Oh how I wish<br>For soothing rain  
>Oh how I wish to dream again<br>Once and for all  
>And all for once<br>Nemo my name forevermore _

Carlos had been driving, almost crying, as he attempted to get through this traffic jam. He was worried about Reaper's last message, which had unfortunately kept him away from his true parents. Something had happened to the boys, and Carlos cursed himself. He knew he was almost like the glue to keep them together. Reaper seemed to know each strength of the boys. Without Kendall, the boys were defenseless. Without James, the boys were self-conscious and held a lack of confidence. Without Logan, the boys honestly felt as if they lost several scores of I.Q points. Without Carlos, the boys were reportedly never as happy or as cheerful. Reaper had attacked them without Carlos, and thus he was racing back to 2J. He wished he knew the new concierges number, for he would have called to check up. Unfortunately, all he had was Bitter's, and he hadn't seen the man in weeks.

Carlos wiped some bulging tears from his puffy eyes. Fuck Reaper. Carlos was never one to curse, but he was tired of these games. He wanted to be happy, bask in his good fortune. He had two loving fathers, two loving mothers, and three loving friends. Nothing could be better.

To quell his nerves and satiate the silence present in the vehicle, Carlos turned the dial on the radio. He usually listened to some hip-hop radio stations, but he found his dial locked on some gossip tabloid radio station. His body shook in fear, as he guessed this was the work of none other than Reaper.

Thus, deciding to listen to it, Carlos turned it on loud, hoping to distract him.

"_Word has reached us about the Diamond situation,_" Carlos immediately heard this and turned up the dial, not wanting to miss as a word;

"_Yes Tom, in fact thanks to reporter Jennifer Golden, we are all able to sympathize with popstar James Diamond as he faces that fact that his mother has cancer._" The female radio host said, as Carlos's heart froze. That explained the phone calls and odd behavior. Carlos wondered how James was, and unfortunately, all attempts to reach James, Kendall, or Logan failed. Sighing frustratedly, he noticed that the show was back on from commercial.

"_This just in Diane; it seems like James Diamond is being accosted for smoking marijuana._" Carlos's face dropped. Since when did James smoke?

"_I see Tom. Our sources are informing us that he has now been arrested, and will stand trial. Poor James, dealing with that grief._" Carlos's heart dropped as well. Where were Kendall and Logan? Why was James alone, smoking weed? Since when did James even smoke? Carlos was too confused, and honked his horn frustratedly as he waited for the cars to move. He was going to the prison first before he reached home.

Finally, after what seemed like hours to Carlos, but in reality a mere half-hour, Carlos ran inside to the police station and saw a mean-looking man sneering at him.

"Do you need something _amigo_?" The man spoke in a thick accent. Carlos sharpened his eyes at the man, obviously offended by the negative disposition shown by the man.

"Yes, _amigo_, my friend is locked up in there. His names is James Diamond!" Carlos pleaded, as the man grinned.

"Did you sell him the drugs? I bet you did." The police officer stood up, glaring at Carlos.

Carlos was in no mood to play games. He took a deep breath and stared at the man.

"How much is the bail?" Carlos asked coldly. The man glared at him again.

"Don't take that tone with me you _beaner_." The police officer spat. Carlos groaned at his misfortune. Of course, he would get a racist cop!

"Is there anyone else I can talk? Preferably someone not outright ignorant?" Carlos yelled, causing the cop to abscond and flush slightly. A younger looking female cop smiled at him and walked toward Carlos, and sent a dark look toward the elder cop. Her dark skin reminded Carlos of Kelly.

"I'm Officer Nadia. You must be Carlos Gar-"

"My name is Carlos Pena Jr." Carlos corrected Nadia, as she blushed and nodded her head. She led Carlos to where James was sitting, alone in the darkness, sobbing.

Nadia let Carlos have some time alone with James as she prepared the papers for bail. Carlos graciously thanked her and looked toward James. He didn't ask any questions, but James was broken down.

"The paparazzi saw me, didn't they?" James asked lifelessly. Carlos knew by the look on James's face that his manager must have fired James immediately.

"James..." Carlos whimpered in sympathy.

"I can't believe I pulled such a fucking stupid move," James spat, obviously sober and level-headed. "If Kendall hadn't just..."

"What did Kendall do?" Carlos asked, suddenly puzzled. He assumed James was upset because his mother's cancer was being broadcast all over the nation.

"...Carlos, the truth is that I had sex with Katie. We were in love," James chanted, as tears began to flow down. Carlos gripped the iron bars separating him from James. "and eventually, it got to the point that she was pregnant with my child." Carlos raised a quizzical eyebrow at this, obviously still shocked that 'Katie' and 'sex' were in the same sentence. Despite all the years that went by, Carlos never removed Katie as his little sister. Thus, he found it odd that James looked at Katie like that.

"I bet you think I'm a fre-"

"No I don't James," Carlos spoke honestly, "I am a bit shocked, but I would never judge you. Katie is a young, beautiful woman. Any man would be lucky to have her." Carlos tried to speak in a platonic mood, although images of Katie and Carlos getting Carlos a date to prom and getting Fruit Smackers from Bitters filled his head.

"I wanted her to abort the child," James sobbed silently, "but really, I wanted her to have it. I knew it was not the right time for it, and I was just so distraught. That's when I began to go to cigarettes. I used to smoke a bit at parties, but that was it. I found them a true release to what I was feeling." James continued, as Carlos felt terrible. He should have known something was wrong with James.

"It's not your fault," James suddenly interjected. For the first time during this conversation, James made eye contact with Carlos, and he knew exactly what the Latino was feeling. Carlos stifled back some tears, as he nodded his head to let James continue.

"Soon enough, I found weed and I was hooked on it. I couldn't stop. I loved the beautiful smoke; it was like I was burning all my problems away. I noticed it was affecting my skin a bit, so I started smoking the light kind and basically abusing all the skin care products I could find to ensure I still looked great," James snickered a bit as Carlos smiled. Both boys remembered fondly the time it took James to step away from a mirror.

"I'm sorry for hiding it from you. I...I just couldn't even face myself anymore. And I...I feel like it's my fault my mom got cancer. Like I should have gotten it, not her." James began to sob again, as Carlos looked sad.

"James, I don't think it's okay you smoked," Carlos began, as James's tear-streaked face looked at Carlos. However, Carlos silenced the boy. "But I'm not going to judge you. You're still James Diamond, and nothing is going to change. Your mother will be okay; heck, I'm sure those cancer cells are trying their best to leave her!" Carlos grinned as James let out a small chuckle in his sobbing.

"I heard on the radio, when I was leaving 2J after a fight with Kendall, that Jennifer was reporting about my mother. That fucking cunt." James swore, as Carlos shivered. He hated cursing.

Before Carlos could respond, Nadia returned, smiling with the bail papers. Carlos graciously paid the bail, and before long, rushed out with James, before the nearby paparazzi could see him. James grinned as he felt Carlos speed his way back to 2J, avoiding the paparazzi who were driving toward the police station.

Carlos finally reached back at the Palm Woods, and went through the back entrance he and the boys were used to using whenever they snuck back into the area. It was handy, especially with the large trail of paparazzi waiting for James.

Carlos found his way to 2J, and signaling James that the coast was clear, Carlos opened the door to see Kendall and Logan talking. He heard Kendall go "You're not mad?" and he saw Logan shake his head.

Carlos cleared his throat, and Logan and Kendall looked at Carlos, their faces slightly red and their eyes puffy. Carlos raised an eyebrow, before James was brought in, looking terrible. Kendall bit his lip as Logan urged him.

"I'm...sorry James, I didn't know. I shouldn't have been such a dick to you." Kendall spoke, sheepishly. James nodded, and sobbed an apology as Carlos held onto the broken pop-star. The boy quickly embraced each other, as they closed the door to prevent any unwanted cameras. For a moment, all three boys began to sob onto Carlos's shoulder, and Carlos felt odd. He was never a dominant one, but he didn't think he would ever see Kendall or James cry on his shoulder, let alone Logan.

"I think," Carlos spoke calmly, "we all need to talk." The three boys looked up at Carlos, and it almost broke him to see all three of his friends upset.

"A-About what?" Logan piped in, as Carlos smiled grimly.

"What Reaper has against us." Suddenly the atmosphere in the room changed as everyone's eyes widened and their attitude sobered. But they all knew Carlos was right. It was time for them to really become brothers again-when they were younger, they would not hide anything from each other. Carlos didn't know what had changed, but he knew it needed to revert back to what it was before they broke up.

They sat around each other, silence pervading. Carlos knew he had to make the first step, and with a huge burning blush on his face, he looked at the three boys.

"I still wet the bed." Carlos spoke in a deadpan voice. The boys looked at him incredulously and their mouths were wide open.

"R-Really? I guess that explains why you always woke up early." Kendall spoke frankly. Carlos took the turn to have his mouth wide open.

"You guys aren't going to laugh at me? Say I have some sort of problem? Anything?" Carlos squeaked, as James held his hand.

"We're brothers. So what if you do that?" James asked, although Carlos could feel what was coming next, "it's better than smoking all the time, and sleeping with your best friend's little sister and telling her to abort her baby." James's throat tightened as he looked at Kendall, as did everyone else. There was a slight flare in Kendall's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"At least...it's better than molesting your best friend." Kendall spoke. Suddenly James and Carlos gaped at him.

Logan squeaked again, raising his hand hesitantly. They all looked confused at Logan and Kendall, although Carlos suspected Kendall had told Logan this earlier, hence why Logan was not freaking out like Carlos would have suspected.

"Kendall, you like guys?" James asked, sounding more surprised than he meant to. Kendall looked hurt, but James looked at Kendall decisively.

"It doesn't change a thing man. And, I guess any guy or girl would be happy to be touched by the great Kendall Knight." James winked dirtily at Logan, who blushed deeply. Carlos grinned too, and the boys were all impressed at their immaturity in the face of maturity and understanding in the face of confusion.

Logan was last. He looked at all the boys, and sighed.

"I slept with Kelly." Logan admitted, and quickly added, "but she never knew about it. I ran out before I could-" all of a sudden, Logan saw Carlos extend his palm towards him, motioning for a high-five. Kendall and James grinned.

"Little Logie has got it going on!" James laughed, as Kendall flushed too, realizing his involvement in the joke.

"You're not mad? Or disgusted?" Logan asked, obviously confused and red.

"We all obviously have vices," Carlos smiled cheerfully, "but what makes us different than other friends is that we accept each others vices and don't let it come in between us." Carlos spoke, as the other boys contemplated how deep Carlos's words were.

"Also," Carlos was teeming with excitement, as he looked at all three boys, "guess what?" The other boys raised their eyebrows as they noticed their Hispanic friend get extremely excited.

"I have two fathers, and two mothers." Carlos grinned, standing like a ten year old with a Superman symbol on his chest. The jaws of the three boys dropped as Carlos explained the story to them, their eyes widening with shock.

"And your parents were okay with it?" Logan asked after Carlos finished the story. Carlos nodded jubilantly.

"We're planning to all meet for Thanksgiving as a united family." Carlos grinned as the other boys cheered Carlos on. However, Carlos's phone vibrated and all of a sudden their hearts stopped. Carlos smiled when it was an unknown number, but it wasn't restricted. He excused himself, as he took the call.

"Hey, it's Carlos!" Carlos smiled, as he wondered who this was.

"Carlos? It's me, Stephanie. I have something I need to tell you."


	8. Chapter 08: Beauty & The Beast

**Chapter 08:** Beauty & The Beast

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** June 2011

**Word Count:** 4,116 words.

**A/N:** I would say we're about sixty percent done with this story :) I don't normally like to do this, but I just want to say that I really love and appreciate each single review I get. I just thought you guys would like to know that. I know some authors get annoyed with some reviews, but each review is honestly like a step for me to move forward with my ideas.

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><p><em>Remember the first dance we shared?<br>Recall the night you melted my uglyness away?  
>The night you left with a kiss so kind<br>Only a scent of beauty left behind  
>Ah, dear friend I remember the night<br>The moon and the dreams we shared _

"Are you busy?" Stephanie's voice rang out. Carlos was dumbfounded. How did Stephanie even find his number? He hadn't talked to her after a fight they had years ago. He recalled it; they had argued over something as stupid as the party they had gone to the previous night. Carlos frankly didn't remember that party any better today than he had ten years ago. Scratching his head, he cleared his throat.

"Um," Carlos coughed slightly, "yeah go on. I'm not busy." Carlos glanced toward the table of the three boys, and his heart almost warmed itself. Logan was laughing as Kendall and James began to imitate Gustavo yelling and Kelly trying to calm him down. It was almost as if...

_No Carlos, don't ruin the moment._

Carlos then heard Stephanie take a deep breath. But before she could say something, Carlos heard a yell from the phone. His eyes widened.

"S-Stephanie?" Carlos yelped into the phone. Logan gave him a look from the other room and slowly ascended from his chair to stand near Carlos while remaining inconspicuous.

To Carlos's surprise, he heard a juvenile voice. It sounded like...a little boy. He didn't remember Stephanie having a little brother, so Carlos assumed it was a cousin.

"Geraldo! Stop it!" Carlos heard Stephanie hiss through the other line of the phone. Carlos wanted to chuckle. He found it almost ironic that Stephanie's cousin would have the same middle name. Carlos was now legally Carlos Geraldo Pena Jr, but didn't mind including Garcia into his name as well. If only he could find a place for it. He loved the fact that he had the power to _choose_ who loved him, in a dark sense. He naturally wanted _everyone_ to love him, but it made him feel so proud.

"Cute cousin," Carlos joked through the phone, grinning sheepishly. For a moment, he thought he heard Stephanie take a sharp inhale, but then he heard her voice again.

"Can we meet? I'm in your area, I think." Stephanie said, sounding slightly weary and exasperated. Carlos bit his lip tenderly, as he really did not want to leave the boys, but figured he would do as much. They deserved some time, especially James and Kendall. Carlos paled upon thinking about James; his entire career was ruined and now with the media trying to exploit his mother? It must be a living hell for the pretty-boy.

"Um sure. Why not at the Palm Woods?" Carlos clicked his tongue, as he swore he heard a slight giggle come from Stephanie. They quickly said a longing farewell, and hung up the phone. Carlos was surprised to see Logan giving him a quizzical look.

"What?" Carlos asked, confused as to why Logan looked so interrogative.

"Who was that?" Logan asked cautiously. Carlos inclined his head slightly, but responded pridefully.

"Stephanie! Remember, Stephanie King?" Carlos smiled, as Logan paled. Carlos returned the quizzical look.

"H-How...do we know. R-Reaper..." Logan mumbled out, as Carlos smiled bravely again.

"Logan, trust me. I know what I'm doing. I doubt it would be Reaper, or else there would have been some stupid text message by now." Carlos admitted, as Logan's fears were slowly eased. Both boys noticed Kendall and James talking about some hockey game, and Carlos took that as his cue to leave. He had told Stephanie to meet him in an hour, but he wanted to be there early.

Carlos tapped his thighs nervously. An hour flew by faster than Carlos had expected, and yet Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. He had talked to the new concierge, Mr. Reyson, and discussed Bitters. It turned out Bitters simply disappeared. But Carlos shrugged these thoughts away. Bitters was the least of his concerns at this moment.

Finally, as if a spot light fell on him, Carlos saw Stephanie walking toward him, a young boy holding her hand tenderly. Carlos's jaw almost dropped; Stephanie was beautiful. She looked rich, glamorous, and Carlos immediately felt terrible. He predicted that she must have been producing some high level horror movies to get her this wealth, and yet Carlos had not seen a single one. He silently hoped the topic wouldn't come up into conversation.

"Carlos!" Stephanie exclaimed, walking slightly faster toward the boy. The young boy begrudgingly followed along.

"Stephanie!" Carlos exclaimed back, embracing the girl. He grinned sheepishly as he noticed her eyes scanning him.

Suddenly, Carlos looked at the boy, and smiled. He squatted to his knees and patted the sour boy's hair, causing the boy to smile. Carlos then regained his posture and offered a seat to both the boy and Stephanie.

The two began to catch up on old times, and laughed about many of the antics that occurred during their reign at the Palm Woods. Carlos even caught Geraldo (as Stephanie had vaguely introduced him) grinning widely at both adults. The two flushed slightly as some of their discussions hinged upon some intimate moments they shared, but nothing was beyond awkward or silly. However, a moment of silence snuck its way through the couple as it sat, staring especially at Geraldo.

Carlos suddenly found a peaked interest in Geraldo. He looked so adorable and childish. Almost like Carlos had looked...

"Say Stephanie," Carlos broke the silence as he ruffled Geraldo's hair, "why did I never meet your cousin before?" Carlos smiled widely at the boy who, instead of smiling back, gave him a surprised look. Carlos scrunched his face slightly as he noticed Stephanie playing with a bracelet on her wrist.

"C-Carlos," Stephanie spoke gravely, "he's not my cousin." She looked up to Carlos, her eyes slightly moistened. Carlos did not understand Stephanie's intonation, and simply delved deeper into the matter.

"Oh, little brother? My bad!" Carlos grinned widely. Stephanie's throat tightened as she shook her head, tears bumbling down her face. Immediately, Carlos felt his heart drop. Something was wrong. Geraldo stood up and walked over to hug Stephanie. Carlos's heart warmed immediately. Geraldo was adorable. His cute dimples, wide eyes full of excitement, and his slightly short stature.

"C-Carlos...He's my son." Stephanie broke the silence as Carlos's eyes widened. Stephanie had a son? Since when? Carlos took a deep breath and tried to think like Logan would. He looked at Geraldo, and the boy could not be any older than nine or ten years of age. Carlos's face scrunched up again, as he tried to run numbers through his head. Suddenly, a thought hit him.

"...Were you cheating on me?" Carlos spoke, his throat tightening. Stephanie's eyes widened, as her tears sped down faster. However, instead of yelling, she merely giggled.

"You're so adorable Carlos." Stephanie said, moving in closer to caress Carlos's cheek. Carlos felt his face burn up.

"Carlos, Geraldo is your son." Stephanie sighed, as Geraldo grinned widely at Carlos. Carlos's eyes widened, as suddenly the fact hit him.

"WHAT?" Carlos yelled, a little louder than he anticipated to. Stephanie bit her lip, as Geraldo's wide grin faltered slightly.

"How...but..." Carlos was completely confused. He didn't understand it. He hadn't slept with Stephanie, had he? ...The party.

"It was that party, wasn't it?" Carlos put the pieces together as Stephanie bitterly nodded.

"I remembered that we slept, but what...caused me to initially leave," Stephanie spoke, her voice tightening again, "was that you didn't remember any of it. I lost my virginity to a guy who was drunk." Stephanie's voice wavered in, as Geraldo squeezed her hand.

Carlos took Stephanie's other hand in his hand, and looked at her. Stephanie almost died; Carlos's warm eyes always made her legs quake.

"I loved you Stephanie. If you had just told me..." Carlos whimpered slightly, as Stephanie closed her eyes in hurt.

"I know Carlos, I know. I was stupid. I ended up leaving the Palm Woods because I was throwing up constantly, and soon enough my parents realized what had happened. At first, they were mad. But after Geraldo was born, they fell in love with him," Stephanie smiled, as she ruffled Geraldo's hair, earning a wide grin. "My mother often took care of him while I applied for jobs. Luckily, one day, I made a breakthrough job at Blockbuster." Stephanie continued with her story as Geraldo squirmed away from her. Carlos didn't notice him disappear to the vending machine.

"And while I was there, a director came in and asked me for a horror movie. I immediately began to analyze all of his selections, and impressed him. Soon enough, he asked if I would like to work with him. Since then, I've been helping make movies, paying bills, and living comfortably. Of course, my name doesn't go on any of the movies yet, but in my contract, when I decide to come out with my work, I'll get all the credit I deserve." Stephanie smiled warmly to Carlos, who smiled back. They both noticed Geraldo running back with something in his hand.

"Mommy! Fwuit Smackers!" Geraldo grinned widely, as Carlos felt his heart warm even more. His son had inherited his love for the fruity snack. Stephanie noticed this and laughed melodiously.

"I should also mention, he can't pronounce all of his words right. It's not a lisp exactly, but..." Stephanie trailed off as she saw Carlos tickle Geraldo on his sides, earning him the laughter of a child. Carlos looked up excitedly to Stephanie.

"He's as ticklish as I am!" Carlos grinned. Geraldo managed to squirm away from Carlos, and sit in his seat again, grinning widely.

Carlos then turned to Stephanie again, and asked her an important question.

"Why did you wait all these years?" Carlos asked, as Stephanie sighed.

"Carlos, let's be frank. I was a wannabe movie director, and by the time Geraldo was born, you had gotten your first platinum and was on your way toward your second one. I frankly thought you had forgotten about me, and if any random girl came to your doorstep with a child, I was afraid you would reject Geraldo...and me." Stephanie sniffed, as Carlos held her hands again.

"I'm afraid to say this, but you're wrong Stephanie. I would have gladly accepted both you and Geraldo. In fact," Carlos pondered for a moment, wondering whether to tell Stephanie or not. He decided to do so.

"I found out I'm adopted. I know have two fathers, and two mothers." Carlos grinned widely as Stephanie's jaw dropped. Carlos explained the story, leaving out Reaper, and Stephanie laughed musically as Geraldo finished his fruit smackers.

There was another few moments of silence, as both Stephanie and Carlos stared into each other's eyes. However, the moment was interrupted by Geraldo's yawning.

"Right, so where will you be staying?" Carlos asked widely, as Stephanie paled slightly. She was not looking forward to this moment.

"Carlos, I have to ask you something." Stephanie began to play with her bracelet again, indicating her nervousness. Carlos raised an eyebrow.

"Anything Stephanie. You've given me basically the happiest news of my life!" Carlos grinned. He couldn't _wait_ to tell Logan, Kendall, and James.

"I got a job in Romania for this movie. But...they recommended to me that I come alone. My parents are a bit too old to watch over Geraldo anymore, and since I'll be gone for so long..." Stephanie trailed off, looking down and ashamed. Carlos's eyes lit up.

"I would gladly take him in!" Carlos grinned. Geraldo was almost like an escape to all of his problems!

"You would? Oh thank you so much Carlos!" Stephanie cried, as she lunged forward and embraced Carlos. He patted her on the back, winking at Geraldo, who clapped and laughed.

"Anything for you Stephanie!" Carlos grinned widely.

Stephanie promised to drop Geraldo later on in the evening with all of his belongings, medical records, and so forth. Carlos grinned widely, and nodded. He ran up to inform the boys.

* * *

><p>"You have a <em>WHAT?<em>" Logan practically bellowed. James and Kendall looked at Carlos's excited face with wide eyes.

"Yeah, apparently at some party, Stephanie and I hooked up and-" Carlos began, as Kendall cut him off.

"Please, spare us the details." Kendall smiled as he held up his hand to stop Carlos, "but are you sure you know how to handle a child?" Kendall knew from the stress his own mother had in raising both Katie and himself that it wasn't easy.

"Please, I'll be _so_ pro at it!" Carlos grinned, and then quickly looked at the other guys, "and I'll have you all to help me too right?" Carlos added quickly. All three boys grinned.

"I'm sure I know enough about pediatrics to help him!" Logan smiled proudly. James pulled out his comb and nodded toward Carlos.

"I can make him a total heartthrob!" James promised, as all the boys laughed.

"And I can teach him how to beat his old man in hockey!" Kendall winked. Carlos feigned being offensive, and laughed along.

"I'm not _that_ old!" Carlos grinned. He was really enjoying everything so far. He had two fathers, two mothers, and a son now. He oddly wondered if Stephanie was still interested in him.

"So what's his name?" Kendall asked inquisitively, as Carlos stood proudly.

"Geraldo! Like my-"

"middle name." All three boys finished Carlos's sentence, as the boy grinned again.

"Guys, this is just perfect! I know Mama Knight, Katie, and my parents will love him! He's just like me!" Carlos laughed alongside the other boys. It seemed, for once in their lives, everything was just perfect. None of them wanted to leave this serene moment.

However, all good things must come to an end. James's phone rang, and his eyes widened as he recognized the number. It was his mother. James excused himself to his room. The other boys shared worried glanced.

"I'm going to talk to my parents-both of them-and get back here before evening!" Carlos promised, as he grabbed his car keys. Logan and Kendall nodded.

The other two boys plunged into a sofa, and sat in silence. They realized that perhaps was now the time to _talk_.

"Kendall..." Logan started, as the other boy peered at him. Logan pursed his lips in nervousness, as they could hear a faint outline of James talking. The words were inaudible, but Kendall was hoping for the best for James.

"...I'm sorry again Logan, for everything." Kendall looked down in shame. Logan smiled, and looked directly at Kendall.

"Kendall, I already told you before. It's alright. I'm not...really mad." Logan said, almost uncharacteristically. He was not mad, and in fact...he didn't want to admit it, but he almost felt flattered in an odd sense. Logan was never one to pride himself on anything, but the fact that he was...molestable almost made him feel wanted in a weird way.

"But Logan, I'm a fag. A queer. I'm gay" Kendall choked through some tears. Logan's face faltered, as he realized Kendall was speaking in retrospect to also his raping. Logan sighed, and held Kendall's hand.

"Who cares? You're still Kendall Donald Knight. No one would care." Logan said, although he knew what he said was too good to be true.

"W-What about Katie? Mom? Kelly? Jo?" Kendall barely said the last name, his heart beating fast. Logan bit his lip in anticipation of what to say, and thus decided to remain in a positive mood.

"Katie wouldn't care. She loves you man. Your mother? She loves you too. They love you for who you are, not for what gender you like. Kelly? She's so chill." Logan smiled, although he knew he intentionally left out one name.

"J-Jo?" Kendall looked at Logan, tears streaking his eyes. Logan sighed.

"Jo will be mad. I won't lie about that Kendall. But if she truly is as spectacular as you always made her out to be, she'll accept you." Logan promised, as Kendall felt slightly more reassured. He didn't want to admit it, but he was almost slightly possibly falling in love with his best friend, Logan Mitchell.

Suddenly, a thorn broke through the canvas of silence as Kendall's phone rang. He saw it was Carlos, and was immediately afraid.

"K-Kendall! T-Turn on the n-n-n-news r-r-right now!" Carlos sobbed through the receiver. Kendall's eyes were wide, but Carlos hung up before he could ask any more questions. He ordered Logan to turn on the TV, and to their shock, Jennifer Golden was sitting in front of them, at her news desk.

"_This just in. According to various sources, celebrity Jo Taylor has officially dumped celebrity Kendall Knight._" Jennifer spoke, as Kendall dropped his phone, and Logan dropped the remote. Suddenly, the camera shifted to Jennifer interviewing Jo, who was sitting with red puffy eyes.

"_I a-awoke this morning, and found a note in my house. I was initially shocked, but when I read it, I knew I had to do this._" Jo began, her eyes moistening. Kendall's heart dropped. A note through the door? Only Reaper was capable of that.

"_The note read that Kendall Knight was a closet homosexual, who had sexual relations with ex-band-mate, Logan Mitchell._" Jo continued, as Kendall's face lost color. Logan's eyes widened, as he realized Kendall's entire world was falling apart. As if on a horrific cue, Kendall's phone rang. Kendall picked it up and said a few words before hanging up. He looked at Logan.

"I'm gone. My agent just fired me." Kendall whispered, as he began to sob onto Logan's shoulder.

However, Jo returned back to the screen and continued reading.

_"Kendall was also...he had raped Logan at first. And he was reported to have been dancing with many men at Sinha's party._" Jo finished, as she fled the screen. Kendall was shocked. Why in the world would Jo do this? In public?

Logan's heart was beating faster, although his mind was focused on one thing. Reaper. He was pretty sure at this point that Reaper was Jennifer, but he couldn't believe she would put Jo up to do this.

"E-Everyone's going to hate me Logie...Everyone..." Kendall sobbed, as Logan patted his back comfortingly. He silently thanked Carlos for calling; if they hadn't seen this, and subsequently Kendall discovered this, then the shock would have been bigger.

"No one is going to hate you Kendall. I will be there for you. James will be there for you. Carlos will be there for you. Heck, I'm sure Carlos's son will be here for you." Logan tried to muster a smile, as Kendall suddenly shifted his body weight.

"I need to go see my mom." Kendall declared, as he quickly grabbed his coat and sunglasses and hat. The last thing Kendall needed was more publicity.

* * *

><p>Kendall walked over to his mothers suite in the Palm Woods, and hesitated before knocking. He could just imagine the look on her face:<p>

_"You dirty queer! Get out of here! I am forever disowning you!"_ Kendall could practically hear his mother screaming those words. Sighing, and attempting to gain some confidence, Kendall knocked quietly on his mother's door.

To his surprise, it was unlocked. Kendall peered open and saw no one. For a moment, he thought his mother wasn't home and had simply forgotten to lock the door until he heard something from her bedroom. Feeling awkward, he tiptoed inside the house, and found his way to his mothers bedroom. Knocking on the door, he heard the noise immediately cease.

"Hold on Charlotte, it must be some room service person," Kendall heard his mother say. _Charlotte? Who in the world was that?_

Jennifer Knight hesitantly opened the door, and almost cried in shock, as did Kendall. Kendall's eyes dropped as he saw his mother with but a mere towel wrapped around herself, and another women in her bed.

"K-Kendall...This..." Jennifer Knight was at a loss for words.

"Mom..." Kendall managed to croak out, as Mrs. Knight quickly turned around and closed the door. Kendall felt so confused, until his mother came out, dressed in a loose shirt and dress pants.

"I didn't want you to find out like this." Mrs. Knight spoke regretfully, as Kendall simply embraced her. She was shocked, as she heard Kendall mutter out a "Thank You."

Kendall then sat her down, and explained to her everything. He explained to her how he was attracted to Logan, while in love with Jo. He explained, with tears, as to how he manipulated Logan for his own sexual excitement. He then explained what Jo did, and Mrs. Knight immediately embraced Kendall. The woman Mrs. Knight was with came out, slightly afraid. She was fully dressed as well.

Kendall then broke the awkward silence, and asked his mother how long had she been lesbian. Both Mrs. Knight and Charlotte shuddered.

"Honey, sometimes," Mrs. Knight glanced toward Charlotte, "you're not defined in a label. I loved your father, and I will always do so, but Charlotte and I simply...connected very well." Mrs. Knight spoke comfortingly to Kendall as he nodded. "I wouldn't consider myself or Charlotte lesbian, nor any sort of sexuality. We both had husbands, and found solace in each other." Mrs. Knight explained as Kendall nodded his head.

"Does Katie know?" Kendall asked, as Mrs. Knight bit her lip.

"Yes." Kendall suddenly felt isolated. Why hadn't his mother told him?

"But Kendall," Mrs. Knight quickly grabbed onto Kendall's hand as if to plead with him. "She found out similar to how you did. Except, we were at a coffee shop, and Katie happened to be there..." Mrs. Knight explained.

Suddenly, Kendall felt liberated. His mother wouldn't hate him, and neither would Katie. He still had his best friends, and his family. He then stood up unexpectedly, and wished good luck to both Charlotte and Mrs. Knight. He then swept out the door and into his apartment, avoiding any bystanders.

* * *

><p>James was sobbing silently in his room. He had called his mother as she was to enter surgery in a few days, and James was so afraid. He was afraid of his mother, but he was more afraid of what would happen to her. While she remained constantly confident, James could hear that falter in her voice. Something inside of him made him feel like a little boy afraid of the darkness. He was afraid of the unknown.<p>

He didn't know who else to call, and somehow he was talking to Katie, explaining to her how he was drunk, how he fought with Kendall, and how his mother has cancer. Katie simply stayed silent and listened to James as he emotionally cried and rambled. He eventually hung up on her because his own cell phone died, and proceed to call her back using the hotel phone Finally, after some more sobbing, James was quieted by Katie.

"James," Katie yawned, "you need to stop the drugs." Katie proposed. James stopped; he hadn't even mentioned his drug use.

"W-What?" James croaked, as he could practically hear Katie shake her head.

"I promise you. Throw away all those drugs you have, and you will feel better," Katie explained, "obviously you feel guilty that because you did drugs, your mother got cancer. Drugs was the thing that may have brought us together in a sense, but they're tearing us apart. They're tearing you apart. You need to throw them away." Katie quickly said farewell, as her friend was coming back into the room. James hung up, and felt depressed. However, he knew Katie was right.

He then went through every nook and corner in his room, located every ounce of cannabis, nicotine, and so forth that he possessed, and deleted every dealer off of his phone. He packed it all into a trash bag and left his room. He was shocked to see Kendall sitting there, in thought. Logan was showering, as James could hear the shower running.

"James?" Kendall broke James out of his thoughts.

"Y-Yeah?" James sniffed slightly, as Kendall looked back at him. Kendall got up, wiped his own tears, and grabbed the bag from James. He looked inside and almost grinned sheepishly.

"You're throwing them away?" Kendall spoke softly, as if the paparazzi was outside the door. James simply nodded.

"Maybe I was wrong," Kendall began, "maybe you are the best man for Katie." James's heart began to beat faster and faster.

"You're responsible, caring, and you obviously love her enough to listen to her." Kendall smiled shadily, as James realized Kendall had listened to James talk to Katie through the hotel phone.

"Go for her James, she's yours." Kendall clapped James on the shoulder as he retreated to his room. James could hardly believe it. He grabbed the hotel phone and immediately dialed Katie.

"Katie Knight, I am madly in love with you!"


	9. Chapter 09: Moondance

**Chapter 09:** Moondance

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys...

**Written:** June 2011

**Word Count:** 3,530 words

**A/N:** Thank you so much Lovin' Big Time Rush and bigtimedegrassi for your amazing reviews!

* * *

><p><em>"The faults of a superior person are like the sun and moon. They have their faults, and everyone sees them; they change and everyone looks up to them."<em>

_~ Confucius _

Stephanie had dropped Geraldo off with everything, and thanked Carlos graciously. Carlos sweetly had pecked Stephanie on the lips, causing the latter to flush with giddy excitement. She hugged Geraldo and cried slightly, but promised that she would visit him whenever she could. She shook hands with Logan, James, and Kendall and for a moment, she felt as if she was taken to a moment ten years ago when she first met the boys and practically scared the living entrails of Logan and Carlos. She wished all the boys a goodbye and Geraldo hugged his mother, before letting go. As she left from the elevator, he began to bawl into Carlos's leg. Carlos's heart immediately softened and he picked up Geraldo.

"Where do you want to go, Master Geraldo?" Carlos asked, holding Geraldo on his back. Logan, James, and Kendall all smiled. They were still surprised that someone as young as Carlos was a father, but they knew he was a good one. He obviously held genuine love for Geraldo, and Geraldo seemed to simply attach himself to Carlos.

"I want to go the moon!" Geraldo proudly announced, as Carlos began to make noises like a rocket, and flew across the room of 2J. Kendall and James grinned while Logan laughed heartily. It was nice to see such sunshine back into their apartment suite.

Later on that evening, James and Katie talked on Skype, with Kendall comically appearing behind James and scaring him. Katie laughed happily, as she stared at her brother and boyfriend getting along. It was any girl's dream.

Katie invited James to a party that was happening at UCLA. She knew James was hesitant about doing so, but she promised as his future agent (she held up a contract he had signed years ago, insisting that he would make her his agent, and that she didn't have a crush on him) that this appearance would only help him. James trusted Katie's judgment and knew in his eyes, she could do no wrong. He made plans to drive to UCLA and with Kendall's blessings (and stern brotherly warnings).

Kendall, despite having been ruined thanks to Jo, never returned for any of his petty belongings in her house. She had never attempted to reach him, and he had never tried to reach her. He hoped in a vicious manner that this fans would support him and boycott Jo, but he knew that in his inherent heart, he could never wish ill toward Jo, even if she practically ruined his career.

Despite everything going on for the boys, Kendall decided to have a nice Fish Stick Friday dinner. Logan, the least famous of the four thanks to his pursuit of medicine, decided to go out and buy as many Fish Sticks as he could, along with dinosaur shaped nuggets and chocolate milk. It was just like old times. Meanwhile, Kendall personally invited both Charlotte and Mrs. Knight, and told Carlos to invite his parents. Carlos eagerly accepted the offer and immediately went to go call his parents, telling Geraldo he was going to meet his grandparents. Geraldo immediately exclaimed that he loved "Cawlos" and hugged his leg. Carlos grinned widely as he hung up the phone, his parents excited to meet Carlos's tertiary family.

While James and Katie continued their chat on Skype, Kendall noticed Logan hadn't returned yet. The market wasn't too far, and he noticed Logan had forgotten his phone. Figuring he would meet Logan on the way, Kendall adorned himself in a disguise that he had once used to secretly meet Jo. He found it a bit ironic; he would have to hide himself to meet the person for which his heart was beating.

So eventually, Carlos and Geraldo found themselves alone on the couch, watching some television. Carlos discovered that Geraldo was a huge hockey fan, and knew a ton of random trivia that Carlos thought he solely remembered.

"Geraldo, why is that red line broken on the ice?" Carlos asked, pointing to the screen displaying a hockey game. Geraldo put his finger on his chin for a moment, as if to think. He immediately blurted it out:

"Was it because back then, there was no col-col..." Geraldo was having trouble pronouncing color, due to his unusual pronunciation habits and thus Carlos grinned.

"Color?" Carlos put it out there, as Geraldo nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! That! So the bwoken line could be diffewent than the blue line!" Geraldo proudly exclaimed, as Carlos patted him on the back.

"Who taught you all this trivia?" Carlos smiled. He was so proud of his son!

"I taught it to me!" Geraldo proudly grinned, as he stood up on the couch, stumbling slightly. Carlos picked up Geraldo again and held him up high, despite Carlos's notoriously short stature.

"You are Super Hockey Man!" Carlos laughed as Geraldo giggled sweetly. Carlos then put Geraldo down and ruffled his head.

"So Super Hockey Man-"

"Stop it! You're making me shy!" Geraldo blushed, as he smiled widely. Carlos laughed loudly as he began to sing to Geraldo.

"We pull up, open the door, all the girls, scream there they are," Carlos began to sing the lyrics to City is Ours. He remembered the entire song, but his part the best. "It's packed from wall to wall , and everybody is calling. Here we come, it's almost time, feel the rush, now hit the lights. We gonna get it all started-"

"The city is ahws!" Geraldo exclaimed. Carlos's smile grew. His son knew his music.

"You listened to Big Time Rush?" Carlos asked, his hopes rising. Geraldo nodded, as he came closer to Carlos, to whisper in his ear.

"Do you want to know a secwet?" Geraldo asked, as Carlos nodded, his hairs rising slightly.

"When I was little, mommy took me to a concert of Big Time Wush, and I heard you sing, and I thought that you were my daddy!" Geraldo blushed, as Carlos raised his eyebrows, amused.

"Mommy told me I can pick anyone to be my daddy. First, I said Ewik Estwada, but he was too old. But when I said Cawlos from Big Time Wush, mommy cried. I thought she was mad, but she hugged me." Geraldo grinned as he finished his story. Carlos felt tears coming to his eyes. He was so happy to have this adorable little boy as his son, and he would never want to let him go.

He immediately embraced the younger boy and the two sat there, hugging each other until James cleared his throat. The two looked at James as he pulled out his laptop.

"Geraldo, it's time your Uncle James showed you how your daddy was when he was little." James gave a wicked grin to Geraldo, as Carlos paled. Geraldo clapped excitedly as James sat on the other side of Geraldo, opening up the laptop.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kendall was walking past several vendors. He walked past a convenience store, near the market, and he almost walked past it until he saw Logan admiring some magazines. He walked in past two security guards who had been placed there due to recent robberies, wondering why Logan was glancing at periodicals that he considered trash. He noticed Logan pick up a magazine, and Kendall immediately followed him and picked up the same one. His heart fluttered when he noticed it was a magazine for parents and how to deal with their child coming out to them. However, he noticed something odd. Logan hid the magazine inside his pants, and underneath his shirt. Luckily, Logan didn't recognize Kendall's costume, but Kendall continued to give discreet glares. Was Logan shoplifting? Why would he? He surely had enough money to go through medical school ten times.<p>

Kendall quickly paid for his magazine, not meeting the eyes of the cashier, and watched as Logan walked past the security guards. However, hidden sensors began to blare as Logan stood, frozen. The two security guards immediately cornered Logan, as he fumbled with his words.

"Steve, give him a cavity check." The hefty security guard ordered the lankier of the two to do. He nodded as he began to pat down Logan. Kendall felt furious, but mostly confused as to why Logan was

even shoplifting in the first place. He then noticed his receipt, and had an idea. It was as if the Kendall from years ago was back again.

Inevitably, the security guards found the magazine, and while some bystanders in the shop glanced with interest, the cashier was trying to facilitate the growing line. Logan looked as if he was about to cry.

"Sir, why did you attempt to steal this magazine?" The tall security guard, Steve, sneered. Logan mumbled something.

Kendall was the only other one close enough to hear the next few words from the hefty security guard.

"Is it because you're ashamed to be a _queer?_" The man asked, as Kendall's blood boiled. No one was going to talk to Logan like that.

Rushing, Kendall immediately found a plastic bag to hide his merchandise in, and he immediately acted casual.

"Excuse me sir!" Kendall tried to forge a fake voice, which Logan bought in distress. Logan, however, didn't turn to him.

"I think you dropped your receipt!" Kendall smiled through his disguise as Logan looked confused. Kendall held out his receipt, and Logan slightly understood what the stranger was offering him. He showed the receipt to the guards, who both held sour looks. Kendall walked by them, but before leaving, he turned to them as Logan left the shop, dazed.

"Listen Steve and," Kendall looked at the hefty man's name-tag, "Harvey. I know your boss, Freight Train. You pull a stunt like that again, and I'll personally contact him." Kendall glared at both men, who seemed to shrink upon hearing Freight Train's name. Kendall smirked as he walked out, and caught up to Logan who look as if he was about to cry.

"T-Thanks...I..." Logan was at a loss for words. How could he reveal to a complete stranger of the torment he was feeling. Kendall noticed a bench, and decided to try one more play before revealing himself.

"Why don't you talk to me about it?" Kendall smiled, although he tried to hide his eyes. Fortunately, Logan was too distraught to see anything.

"...I am being harassed by this person," Logan revealed, tears threatening to fall. Kendall immediately knew who put Logan in this state, but he bit his lip to stop himself from revealing himself. He knew Logan would never tell Kendall what was wrong in order to prove himself to be strong.

"Oh?" Was all Kendall could mutter out.

"...They asked me if my parents...wanted a gay son. They even...sent me this horrible story of gay medical student being tortured and beat u-up..." Logan sobbed, as Kendall suddenly felt terrible. He was playing with Logan's emotions and he knew it. Logan never once questioned his sexuality until Kendall revealed himself to Logan, and Kendall only felt guilty.

"Listen," Kendall cleared his throat, "you should follow what you believe. Just because something may have made you take a detour from your original thoughts doesn't mean it's the right way. You might need to make a U-Turn or something to find the truth." Kendall spoke. Logan froze slightly, and Kendall was afraid Logan had identified him.

"...K-Kendall?" Logan asked as he immediately looked into Kendall's eyes. _Busted._

"Sorry Logie...I..." Kendall was now at a loss for words. Logan had many emotions on his face. Shame, Confusion, Anger, Sorrow, Regret...

"...I'm sorry. I promised never to steal again, but I was just so upset and it seemed like the only thing to do!" Logan began to suddenly sob into Kendall's shoulder. Kendall patted his back comfortingly, and sighed. But then a thought him; again?

"L-Logan...you said again?" Kendall asked, as Logan froze.

"I...It must have been a sl-" Logan tried to justify himself, as Kendall gave him a hard glare.

"...Back in Minnesota, as Hortense, I used to steal from shops. One time, I almost got caught until-"

"Is that why that security guard was asking about Hortense? And we all joked that we didn't know a Hortense? And that no one would name their child Hortense?" Kendall asked, as realization hit him. Logan simply nodded. Kendall sighed again as he held Logan's shoulders.

"You told me that I could be whatever, but most importantly I would be Kendall Donald Knight. Similarly, you can be whatever, and you're still Hortense Logan Philip Mitchell to me." Kendall smiled earnestly as Logan looked up to Kendall. They embraced for a moment, before entering the market to buy food.

* * *

><p>"And this was when Carlos met your mommy!" James showed another picture of Carlos and Stephanie together after Carlos had been scared out of his mind from Stephanie. Geraldo clapped again as Carlos grimaced. James was totally stealing his rep!<p>

"You know Geraldo," Carlos smiled slyly, "your Uncle James used to dress up for pageants." Carlos grinned, as James sat shocked.

"You told me those pictures were deleted!" James was surprised. Carlos winked.

Geraldo laughed as both men grinned evilly. James took the left side and Carlos took the right side and began to tickle Geraldo. Geraldo was reduced to a fit of laughter, tears, and joy. James and Carlos were having so much fun and were enjoying the pleasure when the doorbell rang. Carlos let James take over and unlocked the door to see his parents.

"Papi! Mami!" Carlos grinned as he embraced his parents. They embraced him back.

"Geraldo, come here! You too James!" Carlos motioned, as his parents walked in, admiring the suite. James smiled and shook hands with both of Carlos's parents, as they identified him. However, when they saw Geraldo, they were slightly confused.

"Papi, Mami," Carlos began, "I met a girl, Stephanie, ten years ago. It turned out..." Carlos was suddenly afraid. He didn't know how his parents would react. "that she gave birth to my son, Geraldo." Carlos stood proudly. For a moment, his parents were shocked until they began to cry.

"Carlos," Carlos's mother began to cry, "you have made us so happy. You have given us back our son, and also a granddson!"

"And perhaps a daughter-in-law as well?" Carlos's father grinned as James laughed heartily. The group laughed, as Geraldo yawned, not understanding the joke. They sat around the table while Carlos got the guests a glass of water.

"Would you guys like to see Carlos when he was younger?" James smiled wickedly, as Geraldo clapped and nodded widely. Carlos grimaced again. By the end of the night, James was going to have ruined Carlos's reputation. Carlos huffed as he silently excused himself. He tried to look for his phone, and didn't know where he left it.

He heard laughter, and smiled. He was glad James was connecting with his parents and son. He suddenly heard a beep from Logan's room and entered. He found his phone on a draw, and figured Gerado must have hid it there as a joke. However, something caught his attention. A notepad.

On it, it read "Clues". Carlos read over it:

On the first page, it read "Murderer". Under it, Logan had written clues.

_9:06 PM, Jennifer's, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo enter party_, _Carlos hears scream before 9:06 PM. Logan remembers that Jennifer Golden, Jennifer Opal, Jennifer Tiara, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo walking in that order. Kendall saw the video in which Dak and Jett also attended the party. James remembers that Jo, Camille, Dak, Jett, and Jennifer Golden all had a stench of blood on them. _

Under this paragraph, Carlos read something else.

_Camille told me, Logan, that "L-Logie, it's not like we will be, or we are being secretive. I think being smart, or being extremely blackmailed are two different things. By goodness, I am meeting someone today!"_ _Source is Kendall's video on the phone._

Carlos noticed several marks and pen marks, until a few words were circled. It was every fifth word.

_We_. _Are_. _Being_. _Blackmailed_. _By_. _Someone_.

Carlos then noticed Logan made a log of his calls to Camille, none of which she picked up. Carlos sighed, and flipped to the next page.

"_Reaper_" it read. Carlos scanned it as Logan listed out theories. He noted that it was a blonde, and left Mercedes, Jo, or Jennifer Golden as prime suspects. However, he put two tally marks next to Jo's name and three next to Jennifer Golden's, while none were on Mercedes name, which was crossed out by a pencil.

"Carlos? Are you in here?" James's voice called out, as he entered Logan's room. Carlos silently handed him Logan's notepad, and James paled as he recalled the murder and that Reaper still existed.

As if one cue, his phone began to vibrate.

"_Jamez, I can't wait to see you at the party at UCLA!"_ The text read, from Reaper. James inhaled sharply as Carlos read it and paled.

However, their silence was broken when they heard Mrs. Knight, her companion, Logan, and Kendall laughing at some pictures on the laptop. The boys made a note to talk to Kendall and Logan after the dinner.

* * *

><p>The dinner was the best moment in the boy's life at this time. The three other boys cheered for Mrs. Knight and her friend, Charlotte. Mrs. Knight and Carlos's Mother hit it off, while Charlotte and Carlos's Father discovered they worked for similar companies. Geraldo was getting tired, however, and thus the party was slowly ending. The parents wished the children a good night and a vow to have another dinner party again, which the boys promised to do. The boys promised to do, as they closed the door for the final time. Geraldo had stumbled into Carlos's room and fallen asleep. Carlos smiled, and while Logan volunteered to do the dishes, Carlos stepped into his room and snuggled near Geraldo. This was almost a perfect day.<p>

The next morning, however, Carlos woke up to see his pants soiled and Geraldo still sleeping. Carlos's face paled. He had forgotten about his _little problem_ and began to tremble. He didn't know how he would clean this up without waking his son.

Unfortunately, Geraldo stirred. Carlos looked at him, afraid, and his heart began to beat fast. However, Geraldo noticed the moistness on the bed, and immediately jumped out. Carlos tried to say something before Geraldo ran out of the room, silent. However, to Carlos's surprise, he came back with water and paper towels.

"Mommy always taught me how to clean up if there is an accident. Don't wowwy Daddy, it can be our secwet!" Geraldo grinned as he tried to clean up the mess. Carlos bit his lip to stop himself from crying, as he awkwardly embraced Geraldo. The two of them cleaned up the sheets and dumped them in the laundry. Carlos then got ready, and let Geraldo get ready as well.

As the two sat down for breakfast, they noticed James packing some belongings. He nodded to them, and winked at Geraldo who laughed. Carlos stood up and squeezed James's hand, looking at him.

"We're only a call away. Don't let Reaper get to you." Carlos whispered, as James nodded again. James then departed, leaving the two boys alone to watch TV.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Kendall and Logan woke up and ate breakfast. Geraldo was excited to start hanging out with Uncle Kendall and Uncle Logan, both of whom enjoyed the younger ones presence. The four boys decided to play some dome hockey, and to their surprise, Geraldo was quick and agile, complementing his father's strength and precision. To their shock, Kendall and Logan lost. Laughing, Carlos made them pay for the pizza that they ordered as Geraldo jumped on the sofa, turning on the TV.<p>

"Daddy! Look! Uncle James!" Geraldo exclaimed, as the three boys ran over to the TV. Surprised, they saw Jennifer Golden talking to another reporter.

"_Did you hear that James Diamond, once a duke of pop music, is dating his ex-band mate's younger sister Katie Knight?_" The reporter asked Jennifer, who nodded.

"_Yes indeed. In fact, we have sources of James helping out at UCLA for their big end of the year party. James has really stirred a positive force into these kids, and according to an interview with his girlfriend, James has finished his drug usage._" Jennifer smiled. The clip changed to an interview between Jennifer and Katie, in which they discussed the relationship between James and Katie. They left out several details, but managed to make the story sweet and romantic. Jennifer Golden smiled to the camera and left the show with a few words:

"_Could this mean the return of James Diamond? We shall see!_"

Kendall flipped off the TV, too excited to hear anything else. The other boys exclaimed their emotions, while Geraldo jumped on the sofa, confused as to why his father and two uncles were celebrating. Geraldo always found the news boring.

However, a call ruined the exclamation. Carlos immediately picked up the phone and was shocked to hear James whisper to him.

"Jo is here."


	10. Chapter 10: White Night Fantasy

**Chapter 10:** White Night Fantasy

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.

**Written:** July 2011

**Word Count:** 3,649 words

**Thanks:** SpottedXStorm4ever, sasukesmyemo394, gleechild, Lovin' Big Time Rush, Carla, and a Guest for your amazing reviews!

* * *

><p><em>I hunt this song to the white<br>Through the shroud of snow I saw paradise  
>Peace, no more lies<br>_

"Jo is here." Carlos froze when he heard James whisper that into the phone. Reaper had warned James that it would be there, and the fact that Jo was at the UCLA party could only mean one thing. Wishing James luck, and telling him that they would be there, Carlos hung up the phone and looked at Geraldo, Logan, and Kendall.

"R-E-A-P-E-R is at UCLA." Carlos whispered, as both Kendall and Logan paled. They knew James was at a party there, and the fact that Reaper was within walking distance of stabbing and murdering James only meant one thing. They would have to get there and end Reaper's nonsense once and for all.

"Did Reaper provide any clues?" Logan asked, as he quickly ran to his room. Carlos awaited Logan to return, which he did promptly with a notepad that Carlos found familiar. Carlos cleared his throat, and began to tell Logan and Kendall that Reaper told James that it would be there at the party as well.

"And James just called, telling me...he spotted Jo." Carlos sighed, looking at the hurt in Kendall's eyes. He looked crestfallen, so much that Geraldo, who had quietly found his way into the kitchen and was eating ice cream straight out of the carton, dropped his ice cream and ran to hug his uncle Kendall.

"I...slept with the enemy. The...entire time." Kendall croaked out, as he gently nudged Geraldo back into the kitchen. Both Logan and Carlos pitied Kendall. They had never expected Reaper to mess with them to this extent. They never knew Jo could have stooped so low; she was their friend when they were younger.

"Wait, something is adding up!" Logan exclaimed, as he looked through his notepad. Logan immediately called Carlos and Kendall to sit by his side, and he showed them everything he had written.

_9:06 PM, Jennifer's, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo enter party, Carlos hears scream before 9:06 PM. Logan remembers that Jennifer Golden, Jennifer Opal, Jennifer Tiara, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo walking in that order. Kendall saw the video in which Dak and Jett also attended the party. James remembers that Jo, Camille, Dak, Jett, and Jennifer Golden all had a stench of blood on them. _

Below that, Logan showed the two boys the next paragraph:

_Camille told me, Logan, that "L-Logie, it's not like we will be, or we are being secretive. I think being smart, or being extremely blackmailed are two different things. By goodness, I am meeting someone today!"_ _Source is Kendall's video on the phone._

Kendall subconsciously reached for his phone after reading the paragraph, although he was glad he had decided to record the moment. He didn't realize his childish ways would help the group, especially when he looked past Logan's deciphering notes and found what Camille meant.

_We_. _Are_. _Being_. _Blackmailed_. _By_. _Someone_.

Logan then skipped to the next page, allowing the boys to look over the page. Meanwhile, Geraldo found some frozen corn-dogs, and had placed them in the microwave.

On the next page of Logan's notepad, he titled it 'Reaper' and under it he wrote 'blonde' and he then listed 'Mercedes', 'Jennifer Golden', and 'Jo'. Next to Jennifer Golden, there were three check marks,and next to Jo, there were two check-marks. However, Logan immediately grabbed a pencil laying astray on the coffee table and crossed out Jennifer Golden like he had to Mercedes. It made complete sense that Jo was after them. The only question was why...

"What about the murderer?" Kendall asked, as he felt a nagging feeling in his head. He tried his best to push it away, as now was not the time to get a migraine.

"Let's look," Logan said, as he flipped back to the first page. Kendall never noticed that the title of the page was 'Murderer'.

Kendall observed the paragraph, and he kept on reading it over and over, hoping the answer would pop out to him.

"Nine-oh-six PM, Jennifer's, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo enter party, Carlos hears scream before Nine-oh-six PM. Logan remembers that Jennifer Golden, Jennifer Opal, Jennifer Tiara, Mercedes, Camille, and Jo walking in that order. Kendall saw the video in which Dak and Jett also attended the party. James remembers that Jo, Camille, Dak, Jett, and Jennifer Golden all had a stench of blood on them." Kendall read aloud, although softly so Geraldo would not hear them. The three boys glanced at the note, still unsure.

"Wait, can't we cross out Jo?" Carlos said, as the boys figured they didn't think of that. While they did it, they also crossed out Mercedes, who was still visibly upset, and Camille, who claimed that she was being blackmailed. However, the mark on Camille's name was much less vibrant than the one on Jo and Mercedes.

"I saw Dak, Camille, and Jo once walking into the dark rooms at...Sinha's party." Logan reluctantly spoke, hoping not to upset Kendall. Kendall winced, but did nothing to indicate that he remembered he had been raped. Obviously, he remembered, but Logan respected that Kendall preferred to be selfless at times.

"Perhaps, that's what Camille meant when she said 'we'." Carlos offered, although he was almost offended at the idea that Dak and Camille were even friends with that Jo Taylor. Carlos couldn't believe the boys had once almost forsaken their friendship for _her_.

"So then, doesn't that take Dak off the list?" Kendall suggested, as Logan nodded, putting a tentative mark on Dak's name. The boys sat in silence again, as they pondered if the other two Jennifer's or Jett murdered Griffin, and subsequently Gustavo.

Something about the list made Kendall shiver. He tried to remember what that nagging feeling on his head was, but he could not identify it. Geraldo, who had finished warming his plate of corn-dogs, turned on the TV, and the boys furtively glanced at the screen. It was a re-run of New Town High. Carlos groaned, and was about to tell Geraldo to turn off the TV, until Kendall's eyes grew wide.

"The New Town High theme song..." Kendall muttered as if he was in a trance. He began to remember one day at the pool, several days before the band had broken up.

_Kendall was relaxing in the sun, by himself. He was satisfied at his day, and was excited for his date with Jo, later that evening. He could just imagine her at the set of New Town High, thinking of Kendall while she had to lip-lock with Jett. _

_The dream seemed so real, real enough that Kendall even began to hear the New Town High theme song. Opening his eyes in confusion, he saw Katie watching the show on her portable television that she most likely purchased with her heavy profits of Big Time Rush merchandise._

_"Katie, trying to relax here!" Kendall groaned, as Katie sighed. She picked up her portable television and walked back into the Palm Woods, rather deciding to face Bitters instead of an irritable Kendall._

_Kendall drifted back into his peaceful slumber under the sun, until a shade was cast in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw Jett glaring at him. The dark-skinned Jennifer Opal was attempting to quell Jett, as was Jennifer Tiara. However, it was to no avail._

_"Knight, did you tell Griffin that Big Time Rush would quit if I was brought into the music industry?" Jett growled, as Kendall grinned. While he had not done anything like that, and assumed one of the Jennifer's began this rumor, he smirked._

_"And if I did?" Kendall enjoyed watching the color drain from both of the Jennifer's faces, and he watched Jett push Tyler into the pool as he stomped away. He was later informed by Katie that Jett was kicked off the show, and was having trouble finding a job, and that Griffin had refused to give him a job. _

"It...Jett killed the...Jett!" Kendall yelped, as he broke out of his daydream. Logan and Carlos gave Kendall a quizzical look.

"Kendall, I don't know if that's possible..." Logan said, looking worriedly at Carlos, who shared the same look.

"And why is that Logan?" Kendall asked, slightly frustrated that his own friends were refusing to believe him when he had finally discovered who had murdered Griffin and Gustavo.

Logan pointed to the TV, where an image of an adult Jett was depicted, smiling proud. Jett had been shot the night before, while he was attending a shooting for his career in politics. He was staying at a hotel near UCLA.

"W-What..." Kendall croaked. He couldn't believe it. Jett was dead? What psychotic...Jo!

"We'll never know if Jett did it, to be honest. But we should head over to UCLA to protect Katie and James" Logan confessed. Geraldo looked at them from the kitchen, as the three silently engaged in a conversation.

Finally, Carlos won the war of eyebrows, eyes, and waves.

"It was my responsibility to watch him, and even though Jo is at UCLA, I'm sure she could easily kidnap Geraldo while I'm not looking!" Carlos argued verbally, as Logan and Kendall sighed. They had to agree with Carlos. Jo / Reaper seemed to know everything and was able to reach half-way around the world anyways...

"Okay, you two get ahead start, I need to do some things," Kendall commanded, as both boys nodded. Immediately Carlos went to get Geraldo ready for the trip, and Logan looked into Kendall's eyes. He had a feeling he knew what Kendall was about to do.

"Be careful of Jo's house." Logan warned, as Kendall nodded confidently. The three boys nodded to each other as they set out, Logan following Carlos and Geraldo, and Kendall driving to Jo Taylor's abode.

* * *

><p>Logan and Carlos and Geraldo finally reached UCLA. It took a bit of time, due to Geraldo's whining, but Carlos and Logan were too worried for James and Katie.<p>

When they reached there, they were surprised to find a solemn Katie, with a grave-looking James.

"What happened?" Carlos asked James, who sighed. He ran a hand through his perfect hair. Geraldo jumped out of the car and was eager to hug his Uncle James, but he preferred to look at the woman next to him, who smiled. Logan looked confused as well.

"Jo is officially at the party. She gave me a look, but then disappeared. I..." James noticed Carlos and Logan looking at Katie, who was crossing her arms.

"Yes, I know. I forced James to basically go through therapy with me, and he told me about Reaper. I...wish you guys could have told me before." Katie looked slightly hurt, but she was far more furious that some bitch was attacking her brothers and boyfriend.

"Where's Kendall?" James immediately noticed, as Logan sighed.

"He went to find closure about Jo. I think he does need to visit her house by himself. It's what he needs." Logan spoke, as if he had prescribed medicine to Kendall. The others nodded.

"So what's the plan?" Katie rubbed her hands together. She looked eagerly at the boys, who simply nodded. If they could catch Reaper while Kendall was on his way, then it would be so much easier.

* * *

><p>Kendall ran a hand through his hair, his eyes moist. He had entered Jo's house, and had not expected to find any of this. He could not believe it. It suddenly all made sense now...<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the plan was to use Logan as bait for Reaper. Logan had calculated that of the four of them, Reaper had left him alone, other than a few verbal taunts. While Logan anxiously rubbed his left arm while doing so, he knew that despite his nervousness, he was ready to pummel Reaper to hell.<p>

"So while I will be carrying Geraldo, and acting like everything is normal-" Carlos began, squeezing Geraldo's hand.

"I will be redirecting the University's security cameras to where Logan is standing, so that way there is no way Reaper can escape." Katie nodded, as she looked toward James.

"And I will be keeping track of Jo, and will tip her off about Logan." James finished, as the five looked at each other. There was a lot of tension, but the group knew they had to do it. They had to finish Reaper.

Logan placed himself against a wall of the stadium, inside of which the party was occurring. James immediately began to scout for Jo Taylor, while Katie snuck off to the control room of the University. Carlos and Geraldo nodded to each other and walked in confidently, acting as if they owned the place. They entered the dance floor, and people were intrigued by this duo. Carlos's objective was to make sure not many people ventured outside.

* * *

><p>James found Jo by the punch bowl, standing slightly haughtily. He sent a text to Katie, with the number 1, indicating that she was found. Katie sent back a heart, which caused James to blush.<p>

"Jo!" James smiled, as Jo looked slightly surprised to see James standing in front of her.

"You're...talking to me?" Jo spoke, as she pushed her hair back. Normally, James would have winced and retorted, but he knew he had a mission in mind.

"Yeah, why not?" James asked, although he expected the answer.

"Whatever, you're not _his_ butt buddy." Jo looked away coldly, although for a moment James thought he saw something in her eyes. However, he ignored it and focus on the mission.

"I just wish Logan would come inside," James yawned, as Jo froze. He smiled, as he figured he had caught her now. "He's afraid of something, but he won't tell me what." James shrugged, as he walked away. As he did, he noticed Jo walking away from the party, and he immediately another text, except this time to Carlos, Logan, and Katie, with the number two. He got back a "K" from Logan, a smiley face from Carlos, and another heart from Katie, causing the boy to flush slightly.

* * *

><p>Logan stood anxiously outside, finding it eerily silent. He had a blade with him, so he was not too afraid of Reaper, but the fact that he was going to face off Reaper again was slightly agonizing. He was never the bravest of the foursome, but he would do anything for them.<p>

His thoughts began to anxiously fumigate around a flood of worries and anxieties. He was thinking back to his one-night-stand with Kelly. He truly, after every moment, regretted it. He had done the thing he never thought he would do; leave a woman after sleeping with her. The first thought that had came into his head was about the magical pill, but he figured that Kelly would have had a child by now, had she been impregnated by Logan. However, Logan was afraid of what she would do when she found out. Logan oddly wondered if she even remembered the night. It made Logan shiver in anticipation, to see what she felt like. He would one day ask her, perhaps when he mustered up the courage to do so.

As Logan thought about Kelly, his thoughts drifted to the moment of revelation when he admitted this secret to the other guys. He noticed that James and Carlos had specifically gave Logan grins, but Logan could not remember Kendall's face clearly. He recalled seeing a grin, but was it truly a grin? It did not feel like one. Logan oddly blushed, as he thought of Kendall's hands reaching down into his pants-

_What am I doing? I shouldn't be thinking about these things. I have a job to do! _Logan frantically thought, as he shook his head. He was not gay at all, although he could not help but feel flustered by Kendall. Perhaps it was the fact that Kendall had contributed to Logan's biggest vice, or the fact that Logan had considered Kendall his best friend. It was an odd feeling, that Logan intended to dissect once Reaper was out of the way. As if on cue, Logan felt a stark chill across his shoulder, and at first, Logan saw nothing.

"Hello Logie." A familiar androgynous voice appeared from the shadows. Logan noticed the same cloak, heels, and Ghost-face mask walking toward him. Logan attempted to look scared, although Reaper laughed.

"I disconnected all the cameras, so Katie's plan is ruined. Don't even think you can escape me now." Reaper said, suddenly pulling out a sharp knife. Logan paled. He wasn't expecting this. However, he pulled out his blade. Reaper laughed, and Logan knew why.

However, before he could say anything, he felt Reaper brutally stab him in the middle of his chest, and while he was blacking out, Logan saw darkness. He saw a pool of red, and the running away of footsteps.

* * *

><p>"Is he okay doctor?" A familiar voice greeted Logan, as he struggled to awake. The light inside the pristine white hospital room purged inside of him, and Logan immediately saw a sobbing Katie leaning against a red-eyes James. Carlos and Geraldo were napping, although from the huge wad of tissues, Logan guessed, they had cried as well. The voice belonged to Kendall Knight.<p>

"Why don't you take a look for yourself Mr. Knight," the doctor spoke, smiling to see Logan awake. Logan waved weakly, as suddenly the five other people in the room became alert. Katie was the first to run over.

"I'm SO sorry Logan! I should have noticed the cameras shutting down! I should have told you! I'm so sorry..." Katie cried, her tears hitting Logan. Logan simply smiled weakly, although he felt a pain in his chest. James sobbed as well, while Geraldo ran over and gave Logan a kiss on the cheek, grinning. Carlos walked over, and squeezed Logan's hand, upset.

"What...What happened?" Logan asked, as suddenly he noticed Kendall fuming, while the doctor walked out to receive a file.

"Why didn't any of you wait for me? Logan almost _died_. And I have important news to tell you all!" Kendall rushed, causing everyone in the room to look at him incredulously. For a moment, Kendall had decided not to tell everyone due to Katie and Geraldo, but they were family, and they had every right to know.

"Anyways, before my doofus brother continues, Kendall saw you on the ground bleeding, and called all of us, and we took you to the hospital immediately. The story was that you got involved in a knife fight..." Katie trailed off, as Logan nodded. He then turned to Kendall for the news he had been itching to say, until the doctor came into the room again.

"Mr. Knight, are you the eldest of this group?" The doctor frowned, as the boys looked at each other.

"Um, yes, why?" Kendall asked, slightly agitated that he couldn't reveal what he had discovered.

"May I ask everyone to step out but Mr. Knight please?" The doctor whispered, as Carlos grabbed Geraldo and James grabbed Katie, wishing the duo good luck.

Logan's heart dropped as he realized what the doctor was about to say, but found himself unable to say anything. He recognized the medical procedure the doctor just followed.

"Mr. Knight, are you aware of this?" The doctor spoke, slightly sternly, as he lifted and turned over Logan's left arm to reveal a trail of cuts and scars. Kendall's eyes widened as he covered his mouth to hide the gasp.

"I remember you boys from when you used to come here for your accidents," The doctor continued, "so I will...be above protocol and thus not cancel Mr. Mitchell's insurance. However, you must keep him...safe." The doctor doubted his own judgment for a second, until he stepped out of the room, leaving the two alone. Logan began to feel tears streaming down his eye, as Kendall looked at him, emotions filling his face. Everything became about Logan, and Kendall could not focus on anything else.

"W-Why Logie? Why would you...even think about hurting yourself?" Kendall whispered. Logan sobbed into Kendall's chest.

"I-I...I was tired of being weak. I had nothing to prove I was strong. I was lost, and the only thing bringing me back was my blade. I...knew it was wrong, but it felt so right. It felt like the only thing to do." Logan sobbed, as Kendall twisted his lips into a sympathetic smile.

"Give me one sec," Kendall kissed Logan's hand, although he wondered why he did that. Logan flushed, and looked at Kendall quizzically, as Kendall brought in everyone but Katie and Geraldo. James and Carlos gasped when they saw Logan's turned left arm, but they kept their worries silent.

"You're not weak Logan, and the reason I brought these two here were to convince you of that. We all love you, and we would never want harm to befall on you." Kendall promised, his leadership flair returning.

"Logan, you were always there for us. You helped us through our hardest times. Why didn't you let us know?" James whispered, as Logan began to cry harder.

"James, you are coveted by practically every female in this world. Carlos has a loving family, and is a famous hockey player. Kendall was engaged to a famous actress and still was renowned. What was I? A doctor. I was glad I didn't have the fans, but it hurt when people would forget about me. It hurt when..." Logan looked away, "we lost contact. It hurt when people thought Big Time Rush was just consisted of Carlos, James, and Kendall. And Reaper...didn't help at all." Logan confessed, as Carlos felt tears to his eyes. He never realized how broken up the friends really were.

Kendall vowed, that after they took care of Reaper, never would any of his friends ever feel the need to do anything self-damaging to themselves. Enough was enough. Big Time Rush was back in business.


	11. Chapter 11: Phantom of the Opera

**Chapter 11:** Phantom of the Opera

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.

**Written:** July 2011

**Word Count:** 2,600 words

**Authors Note:** First of all, thanks **SO MUCH** to Zana De Dorinte, Lovin' Big Time Rush, squoctobird, A.R Brooks, gleechild, and especially to BTRandKO, whose kind words have really made me feel so special! Honestly, it's really you guys; the amazing readers who make this story as amazing as you guys say it is. Without the live and vitality you guys breath into this story, it's just a bunch of words. All my readers deserve all the credit for whatever accolades I may receive!

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><p><em>In sleep he sang to me - In dreams he came<br>That voice which calls to me - And speaks my name  
>And do I dream again - For now I find<br>The Phantom of the opera is here - Inside my mind _

After a heart-warming renouncement of separation, the boys found themselves in a group once more. Instead of fighting off crazed fans, they were fighting off a psychotic stalker. Instead of writing songs for mass consumption, they were writing plans to take down the woman who had been behind their current misery.

Katie and Geraldo stayed the night at a hotel James had booked. While Carlos and Geraldo stayed in one room, Kendall and James stayed in another, and Katie stayed in a room by herself. They had decided to meet in Carlos's room, so Carlos would not be worried about Geraldo, and discuss their plans.

"Shouldn't we wait until Logan returns?" Carlos goaded, slightly antsy. He felt as if any plan without the four boys together would ultimately fail, like their previous plan had failed. Moreover, Carlos was afraid of almost losing any other of his family or friends. He was in that state of euphoria he was in several years ago, when the boys were at the top of the world, well on their way to transforming from national pop-stars to international heartthrobs.

"I don't want to worry him," Kendall said, his eyes darting from left to right. He was anxious, as he had wondered as to how Reaper had overheard the plan from the quintet who had thoroughly planned out their attempt to capture Reaper. Somehow, Kendall felt more vulnerable, but oddly safer with Katie around. Moreover, with Geraldo's blissful ignorance, Kendall felt less vile and ruthless. He was still upset over the violation, and the fact that Jo had completely ruined his life. However, he knew now was not the time for petty thoughts. Something was nagging on Kendall's mind, as if he forgot something, but he couldn't remember exactly what he had forgotten.

_Maybe I left a sink on? Bitters will be mad about that..._ Kendall smirked in his thoughts, before he realized something odd.

"Hey, guys, when was the last time you saw Bitters?" Kendall asked inquisitively, as silence adopted the room. Carlos immediately shifted from watching Geraldo fall asleep to looking at Kendall.

"Maybe when we first came in for Gustavo's funeral? I'm not sure. Mr. Reyson, the new concierge, was really nice though!" Carlos spoke excitedly. Carlos and Bitters were never close, due to the whole Fruit Smackers saga, as well as other countless pranks the boy had pulled during his adolescent years.

"We need to focus what's at hand here people!" Katie spoke, scooting toward the warmth radiating from James's body. James smiled, until he saw a flicker of grudge within Kendall's eyes. Nonetheless, James kept his position, and continued to focus on Katie's plan.

"Right. So anyways, can you run through the plan again baby sister?" Kendall smiled, recycling the name he used to address Katie with whenever shenanigans were pulled.

"We are positive that Reaper is none other than Jo Taylor, who is staying here in the UCLA area," Katie began, ignoring Kendall as he scrunched his face. Thoughts were nagging on his head, but he could not remember what he needed to say. Something about Reaper, but Kendall could not remember. All he remembered was Logan's scars...

"So we need to somehow tempt her to get one of us, and when she does, we get her except we fail and die." Katie finished flatly. The three boys looked at her with wild looks. The hope and vigor Katie once had was gone. James was the first to notice tears glittering her eyes.

"Katie, don't cry! Please! We'll try our best!" James cupped Katie's face, giving a slight kiss to forehead, much to the chagrin of Kendall.

"James, Carlos, Kendall. You don't realize it. Jo is always one step ahead of us! In fact, I'm sure she knows about our meetings! I don't know how, but she does!" Katie sobbed, as James instantly felt guilty for exposing Katie to this mess. However, he felt more confident and powerful with his maiden by his side.

"Logan was the one who was able to get to her the most," Carlos added wistfully, as Kendall felt a frantic worm dig into his brain. He knew he had to say something, but suddenly he forgot it. He cursed himself for forgetting the information that was continuously nagging at his brain.

"Maybe we should call it quits," Kendall suddenly spoke up, noticing the incredulous looks given to him by James, Katie, and Carlos, "for _now_. We should think with a clear head." Kendall yawned, indicating his fatigue. Katie sighed, as she scooted closer to James. After a moment of silent, the four friends parted ways for the night, Carlos carrying the slumbering Geraldo to his proper bed.

* * *

><p>When Carlos woke up, he knew something was wrong. Like usual, he could feel a slight moistness, but the bundle of warmth he usually woke up with was suddenly absent. Yawning, Carlos exited his bed, and looked around in the suite.<p>

"Geraldo?" Carlos called, rubbing his eyes. He stretched, his short height failing to even tickle the top of the room. He sighed, and walked over to the bathroom, only to find it locked.

"Geraldo, are you in there?" Carlos asked, still in a morning daze. However, he was beginning to feel uneasy. Geraldo was never this silent. Carlos immediately knocked on the door again, and there was still no answer. Pursing his lips, Carlos began to fumble with the door, concerned with what was occurring with Geraldo.

"Geraldo, open the door! Please!" Carlos pleaded. He was surprised by a knock on the door. Muttering under his breath, Carlos cast one more longing look at the bathroom door and to his surprise, Kendall was outside his door, bags beginning to form under his green eyes.

"Carlos, I can hear you banging on a door from my room. Is everything okay?" Kendally yawned, as he was tired from a restless sleep. Carlos began to mumble, before bawling into the shoulder of a surprised Kendall.

"I-I-I'm asking G-G-Geraldo to open the door...and he won't!" Carlos sobbed, as Kendall soothingly patted the boy on the back. It was almost like they were sixteen again. Kendall walked into the room, and locked the door. He grabbed Carlos's hand and walked to the bathroom, knocking on the door gently.

"Geraldo? It's me, Uncle Kendall. Can you open up please?" Kendall said, as his mind was still fuzzy. Oddly enough, there was silence. Kendall and Carlos met each other's eyes and nodded. They would try and bust the door, hoping to catch Geraldo in whatever shenanigan he was doing.

On the count of three, Kendall and Carlos rammed into bathroom door, fortunately causing the lock to break, but not the door. However, before Kendall could make a sheepish remark, Carlos screamed. Geraldo was not in the bathroom, and there was a simple CD case lying on the floor. Kendall hesitated, memories of his drunken night at Jo's apartment flashing through his head, before picking up the CD.

"Carlos, it's a DVD." Kendall whispered, as the color drained from Carlos's face. The blonde boy immediately rushed and jammed in the disc into the complementary DVD player the hotel provided. Both boys held their breath as suddenly the screen revealed the frightening Ghost-face of Reaper.

"Hello Carlos," Reaper whispered in its androgynous voice. Carlos sobbed harder, as tears plummeted to the ground. "I bet you're wondering why your son has not cleaned up your urine lately." Reaper spat calmly, as Kendall felt his blood boil. How dare Reaper bring innocent people into this mess?

"You might recognize him here," Reaper whispered again, as it shifted from the camera screen to reveal a slumbering Geraldo, sleeping calmly. Carlos felt his heart break as he saw his son in a peaceful trance surrounded by a psychotic Jo Taylor.

"I bet you're wondering how I kidnapped him. You should never tell your child that walking to the bathroom alone at night is safe. Especially when there are _monsters_ in the closet." Reaper finished, cutting the video camera short. Kendall and Carlos both felt numb. Kendall was slightly grateful that he had sent everyone to sleep the previous night before finishing the plan. Carlos felt as if his sanctuary was violated; Reaper had been in his closet the entire time at this hotel!

"Go change, and we'll awake James and Katie!" Kendall hushed, as he ran out of the room, practically slamming the door. Carlos, despite the world falling around him, could hear Kendall screaming for James and Katie to awaken.

James came out of his room first, his hair disheveled and unkempt. Kendall, taking the serious matter at hand, refused to smirk. He quickly informed James of the situation, who practically yelped. The boys were almost paranoid now as to how far Jo would go to destroy their lives.

"Katie, come on!" Kendall pounded the hotel door, not caring if anyone else was disturbed. James held up a finger to silence Kendall as he conjured a card. Answering Kendall's raised eyebrow, James confessed.

"Katie was afraid, and gave me a copy of her room key in case...anything happened." James admitted, as Kendall simply nodded, accepting the answer.

However, neither boy was prepared to see what was inside Katie Knight's room. There was nothing. Everything had been cleared out, as if Katie had left the hotel. However, Kendall knew there was more to it. He quickly stomped in, ignoring James's falling tears and croaks, and located a DVD labeled for James on the bed.

Plugging in the DVD player, Kendall angrily jammed in the disc, his eyes full of flame and fury. Carlos had joined the duo, tears still fresh on his face.

Reaper was smirking on the TV screen behind her Ghost-face. Carlos shivered again, although his heart could not believe Katie Knight...was gone.

"James, and by now, Kendall and Carlos, I hope you're having a good morning. Katie decided to get...nosy and unfortunately, Geraldo was too loud. Poor Katie never expected that I would be right behind her." Reaper shook her head, as she moved to reveal an unconscious Katie Knight slumbering, next to Geraldo. Carlos was shocked. Katie had not been in the previous DVD, and this had meant that Reaper had actually taken the two somewhere. James, despite the distress, was beginning to worry.

"Kendall," James whispered, "we need to check on Logan." James had figured out Reaper's sick and twisted game. She took what was both literally and figuratively the closest to each boy, and unfortunately, James had a horrible flash of intuition that Logan was no longer in the hospital.

Kendall nodded, the color finally leaving his face. While he trembled to dial the hospital's number, Carlos and James engaged in a silent conversation of sympathy and sadness. When they heard Kendall curse out the nurse and angrily hang up the phone, they only feared the worst. A blood-shot Kendall glanced at both boys, whispering: "She took Logie too."

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><p>The three boys were at the hospital before they blinked. While the doctors refused to let them go into Logan's room, as the police were investigating, the three boys knew better than to trust the police. Coming up with a quick plan, Carlos immediately screamed and tripped, diverting the attention of the police force. He began to scream that he saw someone run down the hallway, and the police immediately followed Carlos's command. In the meanwhile, both James and Logan walked calmly into Logan's room, searching for the mysterious disc that Reaper would leave behind for them.<p>

While James searched everywhere, Kendall immediately noticed one of the draws to the supply cabinet was open. He knew Logan hated messes like that, and walked over there tentatively. To his surprise, he found the DVD, and immediately notified James.

Fortunately, the boys had left the room in time. The police were interrogating Carlos, who claimed he must have been hallucinating. After several minutes, the boys all left, with promises to return to the police station for further questions.

Upon reaching their hotel, they caved into James's and Kendall's room, which was the nearest. Plugging in the DVD player, they trembled to put in the disc.

Reaper smiled, sitting cross legged on a chair, while Logan, Katie, and Geraldo were all unconscious. Reaper began to play with her fingers, and from the direction at which she faced the camera, the men felt as if Reaper was smiling.

"Don't you want to catch me? I'll even give you a head start. Once you watch this video, I will be outside the hotel. Come and find me _assholes_." Reaper whispered, in a much more feminine voice. The boys were shocked as the video camera was once more abruptly shut. They all nodded, as they agreed silently to get ready for the encounter of their life.

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><p>They saw the Ghostface, standing outside the hotel. The moment Kendall roared, everything seemed to slow down. Before they knew it, the boys were chasing after the surprisingly agile Reaper. Kendall felt as if this was reminiscent to the run the four boys had done years ago, when they soaked the field hockey team. Back when they were not popstars in Hollywood.<p>

The boys ran as fast as they could, ignoring bystanders. Reaper was extremely fast, and the heels she wore somehow made her even dangerously faster. Upon seeing Reaper, Kendall was reminded on the nagging feeling on his head, but continued to suppress it.

Carlos was at the front of his trio, running for his family. James was in the middle of his trio, running for his love. Kendall was lagging behind, although not by much, running for his best friend and lover. The three boys were running to reclaim their lives from the psychotic Reaper, or better known as Jo Taylor.

"Come back here you bitch!" Carlos swore, earning looks from the bystanders as Reaper practically led them on a wild goose chase. James shivered. Whenever Carlos swore, he was truly angry and upset. The three boys continued to chase Reaper, not noticing that people were no longer littering the streets and the surroundings had become dodgier.

Finally, Reaper stopped in front of a shady building, presumably catching her breath. The three boys continued to run, albeit much slower. Reaper eventually caught her breath and ran inside, leading the boys in as well. Surprisingly, the building was simply composed of stairs, which Reaper was currently racing through, appearing to already be halfway to the top. The boys took one deep breath altogether, as they braced themselves for more physical endurance.

They raced and raced, keeping the same order. Reaper had reached the roof, and graciously left the door open for them. The boys took about another minute or so to reach the roof, and to their surprise, they saw Reaper standing in front of them, the wind blowing at her cloak.

However, to their horror, they noticed two rotting corpses. Upon closer inspection, Carlos recognized the portly body of Reginald Bitters and the oddly shaped body of Buddha Bob! He felt like retching, as suddenly the abrupt disappearances made sense.

"Fuck you Reaper! You're fucking dying tonight you motherfucker! You're going straight to hell!" Kendall roared, as James stood loyally behind Kendall. The three boys slowly advanced toward Reaper, who simply stood there.

To their shock, they heard more footsteps behind them. Everything that had occurred would not prepare them to hear, and see what they saw.

"Dogs." A very caustic and rough voice sounded, as the three boys turned to see none other than Gustavo Rocque, holding a shotgun.


	12. Chapter 12: Gothic Sanctuary

**Chapter 12:** Gothic Sanctuary

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.

**Written:** July 2011

**Word Count:** 2000 words.

**Authors Note:** Oh my gosh! Thanks so much to fanofbtr, squoctobird, BTRandRKO, Lovin' Big Time Rush, and gleechild for the AMAZING reviews they left for the previous chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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><p><em>Toll no bell for me father<br>But let this cup of suffering pass from me  
>Send me no shepherd to heal my world<br>But the angel, the dream foretold  
>Prayed more than thrice for you to see<br>The wolf of loneliness in me  
>Not my own will but yours be done <em>

Kendall Knight had never seen someone proclaimed dead come back to life. He normally found the entire situation incredulous. Then again, chasing a psychotic freak dressed in a horror-villain costume and stalking his ex-girlfriend's apartment was not in the norm as well, and neither was slowly falling in love with his best friend. Seeing Gustavo again immediately reminded Kendall of Kelly, and the proclamation of Logan sleeping with Kelly. It had hurt Kendall to think that he could never be Logan's first, and it was an odd and frustrating feeling for the conflicted man. However, he tried to focus on the matter at hand. To his front was the psychotic Reaper, and behind him was his once psychotic producer. Things were not adding up. These were the times where Logan's brain would have been beneficial, although Kendall was sure not even the genius could provide an answer to this.

Suddenly, Kendall found himself remembering what he had so eagerly needed to tell the other boys. However, before he could, Gustavo Rocque raised a gun in the direction of the boys. They immediately cringed, especially because it was obvious that Gustavo was angry and furious.

"Move aside dogs, I'm here to kill that bitch." Gustavo spat, his eyes glaring with hatred. James, Carlos, and Kendall all gasped as they turned around to face Reaper, who had her hands on her hips.

"You knew Reaper? You knew about Jo? Wait, Gustavo, aren't you supposed to be dead?" Carlos asked, slightly dumbfounded. His eyes were still a misty red from the realization that Reaper had taken his only son from him.

"Shut up dog," Gustavo spoke coldly, as he never broke contact with Carlos, "and I have no idea what you're talking about." Gustavo continued, cryptically. Reaper laughed coldly, before Kendall turned around, his eyes flashing with hated. His heart had leaped into his throat, and was beating fast, causing Kendall to feel nauseous. He, however, knew it was necessary.

"What's so funny _Mercedes_?" Kendall swore, as James and Carlos gave Kendall an incredulous look. Reaper ceased her laughter, and Kendall could feel a glare glowing from the psychotic killer.

As if the sun had finally decided to rise after a millennium of darkness, Reaper slowly discarded her mask. To the horror of James and Carlos, they saw the familiar face of Mercedes Griffin, the daughter of the rich mogul, Arthur Griffin. She was supposed to be running her father's company, and yet she was here, running away from the boys. James was the first to speak up, although his lines were cut when Reaper roared in fury.

"How the hell did you know, you asshole?" Mercedes spat, her eyes flaming with pure and unkempt hatred. Kendall, who returned the glare, smirked confidently.

"You were smart, making us believe Jo Taylor was Reaper. However, something kept me from believing that. It could have been the fact that Jo and I had just had sex when I got a text from Reaper, or it could be the fact that when I left to Jo's apartment, I found a binder of emails." Kendall started, as he even captured Gustavo's attention. The moment had come for Kendall to pull the curtain off of Mercedes. The heiress chuckled humorlessly as she motioned for Kendall to continue. As if to emphasize the threat, she pulled out two guns and held them up in the direction of the four men.

"At Jo's apartment, I found a binder of emails in our room. It took me several minutes, but it finally made sense. Jett Stenson, who had accused me of implicating his name to Griffin, had killed Griffin in a drunken haze at our party," Kendall continued, although his nervousness returned. He suddenly felt weak and vulnerable without Logan by his side, confidently protecting him. He even missed his nephew, Geraldo. "Camille, Jo, and Dak had been meeting all this time, because Jett was blackmailing them not to inform you. However, you found out." Kendall motioned toward Mercedes, who continued to hold up her guns perfectly, without fear.

"Anyways, you were also clever in utilizing Jennifer Golden, a reporter to take us off track from discovering your true intentions. Anyways, when you found out, you must have been mad at Big Time Rush. Had we never existed, your father would have not been found murdered, and you would not have been given an entire empire to hold upon your shoulders." Kendall continued. He found a stark sense of pride as a flicker of anger throbbed throughout the beautiful face of the deadly Mercedes Griffin.

"Thus, you began to think that Big Time Rush caused the downfall of your family," Kendall spoke again, after a moment of terse silence. He was impressed with Mercedes's strength; she was still holding up the guns straight with a eye of deadly precision. "So you began your psychotic wrath on us. Your first victim, I assume, was Gustavo. You wanted to bring us back together in the same city in order to exact your hell upon us, right?" Kendall spat the obscene word of hell, as if to emphasize his hatred toward the girl. Gustavo then cleared his throat, and the attention was cast onto him.

"I had managed to escape the attack, although I did manage to make good corpse. I knew who had killed me, or tried to, and I was out to get her. However, it was too dangerous to expose myself in the world without another murder attempt in which I would not be lucky that I had such a high resistance to poison," Gustavo added, once again contributing a note of mystery and intrigue. Carlos squinted slightly, as he wondered when his producer held so much secrets.

"It took a few days to try and figure out how to get to you, _Mercedes_, but it all became simple. When I had returned to the Palm Woods for a day in a disguise, I noticed a new concierge. It then hit me, that when the boys were in town for my funeral, and there was a new concierge, and their old suite was being used again, something was up. My beliefs were confirmed when that New Town High girl blubbered on television about Kendall." Gustavo spoke as brusquely as he always had. James felt an odd sense of nostalgia mix in with his obvious fear.

"Thus, I began to trail the boys. You would be surprised to how idiotic you both were, when Reaper was slowly trailing behind you. Why do you think she was hardly in her office?" Gustavo snorted, as Kendall immediately picked up the speech again.

"That's what confirmed my fear as well. After Jo's place, I drove over to Mercedes's office, and when I noticed she was not in her office, I found it strange. I snuck past your beautiful secretary, and to my shock, I noticed the desk was basically covered in dust, and that everything was really untouched. Moreover, it didn't help when you left a file open with the contact number of a professional detective." Kendall smiled confidently, as Mercedes scowled.

"I put the pieces together and realized that you must have somehow bugged our room, and especially by taking out Bitters, you had access to all of our rooms. However, before we take you down, I want to hear from you, Mercedes, as to why you became like this? I recall, once upon a time, you were...in love with us." Kendall glared, his playful streak gone and hated filling his blood. She was the reason Logie was hurt. She was the reason Kendall was raped. She was the reason that his brothers were in pain. She was the reason behind his misery.

"Fuck you all!" Mercedes said, tears suddenly streaming down her eyes. She looked at the four of them angrily. "My dad would not have died, and I would have not had to forsake my fucking life for this stupid company! I was a freaking socialite, not CEO!" Mercedes trembled, as her grip on the gun began to throttle. "I was out to get all of you for this, and it was the only way!" Mercedes yelled, her voice heightening in hysteria. Kendall noticed the girl's sanity slowly slipping away, and his eyes widened. She still held two guns.

"That stupid Buddha Bob freak caught me bugging your room, and I had to kill him. No one could ruin my plan. NO ONE!" Mercedes yelled, as she pressed the trigger. Luckily, the bullet hit the air, but suddenly the air changed. Gustavo immediately prepared his gun, and aimed it toward Mercedes.

"I was going to be on top! I never wanted to do work!" Mercedes yelled, as she continued to sob. Something hit Kendall. While it wasn't sympathy, it was something strange. From the look on James's face, he knew James saw it too.

James and Mercedes were eerily similar. They were both superficial, beautiful, and sophisticated. They loved power, prestige, and status. Money ran in their veins. Thus, to see Mercedes slowly losing grip on her sanity did not seem right. It seemed unnatural and unlike the Mercedes they knew as teenagers. It made Kendall want to believe she was a mere puppet in the game, but just nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

However, before Mercedes could cry any longer, she immediately ran forward, shooting sporadically, The boys' eyes widened, as Gustavo began to fire. The boys took cover, afraid of what to do. Gustavo was somehow lucky in avoiding Mercedes's emotionally infused bullets, but on the other hand, Gustavo's aim was terrible. It was almost a comedic fight had the situation been less grave as it was now.

"Wait, Gustavo! She has people! Like Logan! And Katie! And Carlos's son!" Kendall pleaded. Gustavo paused for a moment, and immediately tried to shoot for Mercedes's leg. However, she took the moment to precisely aim a bullet into Gustavo's leg, and suddenly, he fell backward. The boys screamed, as they found a new found drive. They all nodded, and Carlos patted an imaginary helmet placed on his head. They were going to do what they did to any intruder. Tackle them down. The boys were experienced at doing stunts as this, although they were used to Logan being able to calculate for them. However, they knew they had to do it for Logan, for Katie, and for Geraldo. They were doing it for their loved ones.

It would be a dangerous tackle. With Mercedes shooting, Kendall was unsure as to when to jump. He did not want to hurt anyone, but he needed to make sure that the boys were able to tackle her at the right time. However, time was against him. The more time he spent with Mercedes, the higher the chance she would hit one of the three boys. He still had some questions that needed answering, and he needed to know above all, where Logan was, along with Katie and Geraldo.

With Logan running on Kendall's mind, Kendall lunged toward Mercedes, wincing in pain as he felt a bullet scrape his skin. Carlos and James were also hit, but despite their pain and bleeding, their love for Geraldo and Katie saved them and allowed them to pummel through and tackle Mercedes to the ground. Kendall kicked away one of the guns, while Carlos kicked away the other gun. Kendall noticed a dark look in James's eye, as he sat on the struggling Mercedes provocatively. Kendall shook his head, and the dark look faded, and the love for Katie clouded James's eyes again.

"We got you bitch." James whispered, as Carlos and Kendall panted, pinning Mercedes to the ground. She struggled, and cried, but she could not get free. Gustavo, who had managed to find his phone while laying on the ground in pain, had called the police, who were storming up the building. Kendall wanted to believe it was all over. Kendall wanted to believe there would be a happy ending. Kendall felt as if he, Logan, Carlos, and James deserved a happy ending.

However, with the menacing laugh from Mercedes, coupled with her rampant tears, Kendall oddly knew the pain was just beginning.


	13. Chapter 13: End of All Hope

**Chapter 13:** End Of All Hope

**Title:** Haunted

**Genre:** Angst / Suspense

**Rating:** M

**Summary: **Two years after breaking up, Big Time Rush reestablish their friendship in the time of a danger that could possibly destroy everything for each of the boys... WARNING: Rated for Slash, Rape, Drug Use, Self-Harm.

**Written:** August 2011

**Word Count:** 2,108 words

**Authors Note:** Wow! This is the last chapter of Haunted, the ending to my very first story and my very first BigTimeRush fanfiction! At this time, I would like to thank the following people for submitting reviews to Haunted: Bella15, gleechild, Lovin' Big Time Rush, Kogan4life, Zana De Dorinte, leopardcheer2, waterwicca, surfergal23, squoctobird, chocolateXcupcakeX, irishoreo, jay, bigtimedegrassi, sasukemyemo394, Carla, SpottedXStorm4ever, BTRandRKO, and fanofbtr! You guys are the **BEST**! This was my very first story, and gosh, I just cannot thank you guys enough! I also want to thank everyone who put my story on alert and favorite! I want to thank BigTimeRushBabe, BitchinBabyy, BTRandRKO (again), chocolateXcupcakeX (again), deathy A. Saiyania, fanofbtr (again), Lovin' Big Time Rush (again), oneforthehaters, SpottedXStorm4ever (again), squoctobird (again), A.R Brooks, bigtimedancer, bigtimedegrassi (again), bigtimerushfangirlamy, BTRandRKO (again), chocolateXcupcakeX (again), fanofbtr (again), gleechild (again), irishoreo (again), Lovin' Big Time Rush (again), ObsessedWithDannyPhantom, Saphire-Flyer, sasukemyemo394 (again), sega385, Silverprint, SpottedXStorm4ever (again), squoctobird (again), surfergal23 (again), uNperfectXxXx, waterwicca (again), and xUndisclosed. You all have stood by me and I love all of you guys SO much. Oh, and please read till the very end!

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><p><em>It is the end of all hope<br>To lose the child, the faith  
>To end all the innocence<br>To be someone like me_

Kendall Knight knew what the word hopeless meant. It meant there was no hope; the situation was beyond optimism or hope; times were desperate. When the police and paramedics had finally arrived, along with Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Carlos's parents, and Kelly, there were a million emotions flying around as if they were in a battle. Mrs. Knight and Kelly were shocked to see Gustavo alive, which was a curious statement in itself as the man had been loaded into the back of an ambulance. Mrs. Knight almost fainted upon hearing that Katie had gone missing, and Carlos's parents cried upon hearing that Geraldo was missing too.

Kendall wondered how Carlos felt at the prospect of calling Stephanie only a few days after receiving the lovable boy. Kendall could not believe that they had won, only to lose. They didn't realize that Mercedes had gotten them in the position she had wanted; she wanted them to be helpless and alone. Sure, people would believe that Mercedes Griffin had gone crazy, but only she knew where Logan, Katie, and Geraldo were. The police had refused to let the boys meet her until they had interrogated her, but the boys were all frantic to meet with the crazy heiress.

Suddenly, James cleared his throat, and robbed Kendall of his thoughts. The boys were at the same place where everything had started; Apartment 2J. The police had cleared the building to clear the numerous bugs in the hotel room, which were listening to every word that the boys had said. When they had entered Logan's room and Katie's old room, Kendall felt as if he would lose his own sanity. He could not believe the three people could not be found. The police promised to call them as soon as they found anything, but seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like days. Time was tantalizing and it was mocking Carlos, James, and Kendall.

The three boys had been discharged from the hospital after a few inspections. Needless to say, the press was curious to see three celebrities grazed with injuries, although Kelly had developed a loud voice to drive them away. Kelly had been emotional upon seeing Gustavo return, and although he had been in a peaceful slumber in his hospital bed, perfectly safe, Kelly had been sobbing in tears upon seeing the portly man return.

"So explain everything to us Kendall, just everything." Mrs. Knight barely whispered, as her bloodshot eyes remained barren. Charlotte was caressing Mrs. Knight's back, although it was almost to no avail. So many close friends of theirs had died; Bitters, Buddha Bob, and Jett, in Mercedes's pursuit to exact justice on the boys for a crime they never knew they committed. How were they to know that their rivalry with Jett would spiral into the murder of CEO Arthur Griffin? Kendall had thought of contacting Jo, Camille, and Dak, but he figured the less publicity he had, the better he would feel.

"It all started when we returned from our own lives to meet back up in this apartment," Kendall croaked. He hardly noticed Carlos getting a glass of water, and neglected to even acknowledge the beverage. "We all received our first message from Reaper-I mean, Mercedes, under the guise of Reaper. Unfortunately, at that time..." Kendall felt his throat tighten, as he thought of how many years he had spent apart from his lover, Logan.

"At that time, none of us really trusted our brothers," Carlos picked up the speech and continued. "So we went on, battling Reaper in our own ways. In some ways, Reaper helped us, like introducing me to _mami_ and _papi_," Carlos gave a weak smile to his birth parents, "but in other ways, Reaper completely ruined our life, like what she did to Kendall." Carlos sent a furtive glance to Mrs. Knight, upon seeing her reaction of her son turning out to be gay. Carlos could have imagined a sarcastic comment from Katie, and her small body reminded Carlos of his son. Suddenly, his heart felt heavy.

"Anyways, we kept on battling Reaper, as we received a video from her. She basically told us we killed both Gustavo and Griffin, and while we...certainly caused their deaths, we di-didn't meant to." James sniffed slightly, as he felt himself losing control over his emotions. He sniffed once more, before looking up. Kelly, Gustavo (who was in a wheelchair), Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, and Mr. & Mrs. Pena were here. "But eventually, after we were all driven to a point of no-return, we decided to bond together again and become as close as we were when we were Big Time Rush..." James felt as if he could not continue anymore. For some odd reason, he desperately wished for Gustavo to yell at how stupid his 'dogs' were for breaking the band up, but there was only a mocking silence.

"Finally, we heard from James that Jo-who we originally thought was Reaper-was at UCLA. Reaper had just told us that she would be at UCLA, and thus we thought it fit perfectly. However, I chose to stay back, and thus I discovered Mercedes's secret." Kendall quickly turned to Carlos to continue, as his throat continued to tighten as if a snake was constricting it.

"We stupidly made this plan to let Logan be the bait for Reaper, which worked, until she stabbed him." Carlos breathed, as scars were implanted in his brain upon seeing Logan's own scars. It made him feel numb and cold. Mercedes had done so much to them.

"Thus, the next morning, when Kendall joined us, we noticed Gerlado was missing, and so was Katie. When we got to the hospital, Logan was found missing as well." James whispered, as the painful memories from that morning still burned fresh on James's memory.

"However, before that, I had gone to Mercedes's office, and found it completely unused. I eventually put it all together, with the help of Logan's clues, and discovered that Mercedes hated us for causing the death of her father and eventually the ruination of her life. It all suddenly made sense, and I raced to find the others, but when I got there, my mind was frazzled upon seeing Logie injured..." Kendall knew he had used his pet-name for Logan, and he didn't care at this moment what the others thought.

"So...you guys have been in so much pain for all these days?" Mrs. Pena commented, sending a sympathetic look toward the boys. Mr. Pena looked slightly uncomfortable, although he only murmured a few notes of sympathy. Carlos appreciated the mere presence of the couple, as he appreciated Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Kelly, and Gustavo.

All the adults were stunned. It was truly striking to see how much hell the boys had gone through under their noses, and they felt vulnerable and helpless. They were unable to help the boys at all.

"The only thing the situation begs is this question; how did Mercedes discover all of our secrets? My secret and Logan's secret," Kendall sent a furtive glance toward Kelly, who stood unfazed. The adults were unaware as to what these secrets were. "occurred during the course of Big Time Rush, as did James. Carlos's was sort of recurring throughout his life, but it was something none of us knew about each other." Kendall commented, finally seizing a bit of control back into his life.

There was a momentary silence in the room, and Mr. Pena's uncomfortable fidgeting seemed to somehow fit into the situation. These were the times that Kendall missed Logan the most. His rational explanations always saved the boys, and it seemed like something that would surely come in handy. Kendall's heart was hurting in a way he had never felt pain before; he missed Logan with all of his life, and he would do almost anything to see the shorter boy again.

Suddenly, Kelly's phone vibrated. She gave a sheepish ghost of a smile as she scrolled through her smart-phone. Suddenly, she let out a high-pitched gasp, which caused all of the members in the room to turn and face her with an incredulous gaze.

"T-Turn on the TV..." Kelly whimpered, as she suddenly trembled. Gustavo rolled his wheelchair to the remote and shuffled through the channels, until he saw a news report with a familiar face on it.

"Actress Joanne Taylor has told us that she has just sent a legal document to her former fiance Kendall Knight for illegal trespassing, harassment, and other misdeeds. Her agent claims that she intends to sue Kendall Knight for every penny he is worth." Jennifer Golden smiled pleasantly, as if she was reporting that the weather would be sunny for the rest of the week. Kendall's jaw dropped, as he felt the hands of Mrs. Knight, Charlotte, Carlos, and James on his shoulders. Jo was originally the least of his problems, but she was becoming a parasitic thorn on Kendall's side. He was initially infuriated to discover in her apartment, that Jett had been living next-door to the couple, blackmailing Jo. He was even angrier to discover that Jo had alerted Jett that the boys were back together in Los Angeles and that they were in her apartment, which caused him to move out. While Kendall had felt bad upon hearing about the actor's untimely death, he almost felt no remorse. It frightened him how the situation had escalated into Kendall's lost of remorse, Jo's sadistic behaviors, and Logan's absence.

"How interesting Jennifer," another news anchor smiled, as he turned to face the TV screen again. "It seems like the boy band has been up to no good. Actress Camille Roberts went to court today, to file a lawsuit against James Maslow for attempting to rape her." After hearing this, the entire room gasped as James, who almost felt like shrieking like he used to when he was younger. Camille was suddenly against the boys? She had been one of their closest friends when they were younger, and now there was this ludicrous claim coming from her? As if one cue, James's celebrity lawyer had sent him an email, informing him of the lawsuit. James couldn't believe it. Reaper-Mercedes was incarcerated, but her magic was still haunting the boys. She was like a spectral witch, sending her astral projections to forever haunt the boys.

Carlos almost felt like an imminent force was coming to attack him. He mentally braced himself for the news, until the weather came on. As if one cue, everyone let out a breath of relief, although James running to the bathroom and Kendall muttering words under his breath were not good signs at all. Logan was gone. Katie was gone. Geraldo was gone. Bitters was dead. Buddha Bob was dead. Jett was dead. Camille was an enemy. Jo was an enemy. Mercedes was an enemy. It was like the entire world was crumbling apart for the boys; nothing was right anymore. Logan was supposed to forever be with them, as Katie and Geraldo were. Bitters was supposed to grow old and impress his mother with his lies, but secretly have an appreciation for the boys. Buddha Bob was supposed to peacefully retire and write songs with Guitar Dude for a living. Jett was entering the world of politics, where with his charm and grace, he would surely make an impact. Camille and Jo were supposed to always be on the side of the boys, and Mercedes was supposed to be happy about inheriting the company. Nothing was right in the world anymore.

As if on cue, Carlos's phone buzzed. The familiar sensation he felt whenever he opened a text from Reaper was back. Suddenly, the world lunged and attacked him, clawing out whatever life Carlos had left. He wanted to laugh. The boys thought they had gone one step by stopping Mercedes, but they had only eliminated a pawn in the game.

There was a text message on his phone, from a restricted number. The signature of the message was ReaperToo.

The boys were forever haunted; they were doomed to suffer through waves of mental anguish and torment. Their closest friends and comrades were gone, slowly people around them were dying, and instead of taking the queen of the battlefield, they had only taken a pawn. A simple pawn. They had invited the ghosts of the past to come and terrorize them to no end. They had opened the door for their own destruction by breaking apart. They had caused the imminent ruin of their own lives, and for the people around them. They were doomed to be forevermore _**haunted.**_

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><p><strong>Before you guys kill me or hound me with mail, I would like to let you all know there will be a sequel. It will be called <em>Scream<em> and I plan to have it posted by August 18th. Please check back by then to see the story! Once again, thank you guys so much and I cannot wait for you guys to leave your comments, reviews, and feedback!**__

_**~*ImprecantesStellam*~**_


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